Stealer of Souls
by V Tsuion
Summary: A golden puzzle claiming to be from Egypt - no doubt fake - in a dusty antique shop. A children's playing card - the invention of Maximillion Pegasus - left at the scene of a crime. Little did Light Yagami or the mysterious detective L know the magnitude of what they were getting themselves into.
1. The God of a New World

**This story was originally written in 2015 and was edited a little prior to publication.**

* * *

"Dark Magician? What the fuck is a Dark Magician?"

One month earlier:

 _The world is rotten._

The bell rang, signalling the end of yet another underwhelming day. The front doors opened to give way to a stream of altogether uninteresting teenagers. At just about the middle of the outpouring, between gaggles of chattering students, walked a rare point of interest. He looked all together average, a young Japanese man with short brown hair, a little lighter than most of his peers, though not quite the bleached blond of those who had bothered to affect the stylized appearance. His hair was not the most interesting thing about him.

Light Yagami walked home at a pace that wasn't quite leisurely, but didn't quite reflect a sense of purpose. Inside, he went straight to his room and closed the door behind him. He had a date in an hour. He gave the calendar on his wall a cursory glance in perfunctory deference to its purpose. He had noted the date in the appropriate square on the day it had been arranged, but he did not forget things, certainly not anything remotely important enough to be worth noting down.

Another date. It barely qualified as sufficiently noteworthy and he had little doubt it would soon be forgotten. It was a shame that his time was inevitably wasted on such frivolities. He was brilliant and fully aware of the fact. A mind such as his should have enabled him to do more than waste his intellect on nonsense as the world crumbled around him.

But enough of that, his date was waiting.

He waited at the bus stop for fifteen minutes before she arrived. He had considered turning around when he arrived precisely on time and she was nowhere in sight, but waiting was no more a waste of his time than any other way he could spend it.

He greeted her with a smile when she finally did appear, running toward the bus stop as though doing so might excuse or even prevent her tardiness. They exchanged banal greetings and proceeded to an - if possible - even more meaningless conversation. The bus soon arrived to take them to their destination.

Said destination was a surprisingly run down neighborhood, complete with boarded up shop-windows and ill kept loiterers. At least it had no pretensions of purity. His date grabbed him by the hand and led him through the winding streets until at last she allowed him to stop and catch his breath in front of a dirty little antique store.

She led the way inside the cramped, dusty one-room shop. The walls were lined with trinkets that were even more useless now than they had been when they were new. He scanned each shelf from top to bottom in a half-hearted effort to do something other than count the seconds he was wasting. He had made his way to the back of the room and was about to begin the trek back to the exit and its vain promise of freedom when a glint of gold caught his eye.

He had passed over many other things that shone or glimmered with a glassy stare, and he had disregarded many more that had once been shiny. The gold box, as he realized it was when he got a closer look at it, was not particularly remarkable among the glitzy artifacts of even more wasteful ages. The markings that decorated its surface appeared to be hieroglyphics, identifying it as of Egyptian origin, or more likely, an emulation of Haunted Egyptian style. The gold was probably just paint.

He didn't know what the characters read. Part of him regretted the fact, but he doubted the inscription was truly worth understanding. Chances were, they didn't mean anything at all, it was just decorative, a stylistic flare. A waste of time.

He lifted the strangely heavy cover to peer inside. It contained several chunks of gold configured into shapes that were undoubtedly purposeful - it was a puzzle that when put together must have resembled a pyramid, given the five distinct vertices. He fished out a piece to examine it closer. It was gold - or fake gold as was probably the case, but too substantial to have been plastic. The smooth metal, with sharp corners, was barely worn from the time that it had purportedly endured.

Another piece, similar to the first, but not identical. He examined one in one hand and the other in the other. They did not fit together.

He idly wondered how much it cost, not to buy it, but for curiosity's sake. Did the owner think it was real or a fake?

"I knew you'd find something cool here, I always do," his date remarked, he wondered if she had murdered the silence brutally enough to warrant an investigation led by his father - Chief of the Criminal Investigation Bureau, whose jurisdiction was all of Japan - "What's that?"

"That," the old shopkeeper interrupted, she paused for unwarranted dramatic effect, "Is from the Valley of the Kings, dug up from the tomb of a Pharaoh. The man I bought it from said it was made of solid gold."

"That's impressive," Light said, though it didn't even count as an impressive lie, "If it's true."

The shopkeeper laughed, "For such a handsome young customer, I'll give you a special price."

The price she gave him was expensive for a fake, but it certainly wasn't priced like the genuine artifact.

"Are you going to get it, Yagami-kun?" his date asked.

"It is very cool, but unfortunately out of my budget. Someone else will have to uncover the mysteries of the Haunted Egyptian puzzle."

In that instant he knew he couldn't let that puzzle fall into anyone else's hands.

* * *

It was silly, absurd really. It was a fake. It had to be. There was no other reasonable explanation.

 _But what if it wasn't?_

There was something about that puzzle that sparked Light's interest.

He had translated the symbols on it to the best of his ability - they were real hieroglyphics, he would give the forger that. The inscription on one side of the box roughly translated to "this treasure can be seen, but you haven't seen it," another said, "to the one who controls me, I will give dark wisdom and strength," and he had gathered from the third side that whoever solved the puzzle would be granted one wish.

It was a joke, a whole lot of nonsense. He supposed it could have been a replica of some actual artifact, but even that he seriously doubted.

The solution to the riddle was obvious, it was referring to the puzzle itself. It could be seen when put together, but if someone was reading the box, especially for the first time, they wouldn't have seen the complete puzzle yet.

The bus came to a stop and he stepped out onto the run down street for the second time that day. It was nearly dark out, maybe the antique store was closed already and that would put an end to his mission - for that day, at least.

He had plenty of money saved up and it wasn't like he was spending it on anything anyway. The puzzle struck him as interesting, so he would solve it and then dispose of it. On occasion people had suggested he find a hobby. As loathe as he was to listen to their suggestion that he waste time, the puzzle seemed sufficiently innocuous and at the same time less of a waste than most other pursuits his classmates engaged in.

He did not collect trinkets and so he concluded that this puzzle would be no trinket.

The shop was still open. The puzzle had been moved to the front, by the desk where the old woman stood as though she were waiting for him.

"I had a feeling you would return for it."

* * *

Light awoke with a painful groan. _Everything_ was painful.

 _What happened last night?_

The last thing he remembered...

The act of thinking was beyond onerous. Had he been drugged?

What was the last thing he remembered? He had to remember _something_ from the previous night!

... He had been sitting at his desk, it was late, he had been angry about... about those men he had seen earlier that day...

That he remembered clearly, at least, though a whole lot of good that did anyone. He saw them harassing a woman on the street while he was out shopping and he was helpless to do anything about it. Every day there were countless crimes like the one he had seen, or worse, and all he could do was go through his pointless routine, wasting his time and intelligence that could be put to such better use-

He had solved the puzzle. He had been thinking about the woman and the men who had attacked her and how little he could do about them or anyone else and the puzzle had just come together. That was the last thing he remembered from the previous night! He had put the puzzle together and then...

And then... nothing.

What had he done next? What happened next?

He had not just fallen asleep at his desk, that didn't explain the pain.

Was he going insane? No! He could not be going insane. His mind was his and his alone, it could not betray him like this. He had been drugged! He had been drugged and then what?

He slowly hauled himself out of bed. A sharp pain stabbed through his aching muscles and bones with every move he made.

He sat up and his head spun. A weight hung heavy around his neck. A sharp edge burrowed into his upper chest, barely dulled by his thin shirt.

He looked down-

What was the puzzle doing around his neck? He had been right, it was complete.

He considered removing it, but the way his arms hung at his sides, painful and heavy, convinced him otherwise.

So it continued to hang there, gaudy, gold, and painful. He must have been drugged to think it was a good idea to put it on - he shuddered at the thought of what he could have done unconstrained by his careful deliberation - unless someone else had put it on him... But why...?

His head ached with the effort it took to think. He felt sick, worse than sick.

Knock. Knock. The sharp sound was painful in his ears, or maybe that was just the sides of his head.

What had happened to him? What had he done?

Was this what it felt like to wake up after drinking? He had been a puppet controlled by the part of himself that was never supposed to see the light of day, controlled by unconscious whims like _everyone else_. _He_ was supposed to be in control, deliberate, there were things no one was supposed to see... Even his mind was no longer his own.

"Light, is everything okay in there?" It was his mother, her voice thick with concern.

He had to stand. She couldn't know what had happened - or that he didn't know. No one could ever know. The thought provided enough leverage to horse him to his feet over the sharp pangs.

His fingers fumbled with the cord that tied the puzzle around his neck. He pulled at the knot until his fingers burned. Finally the puzzle fell to the ground at his feet with a thud.

He rolled his neck, suddenly a pound lighter, to stretch out the tension.

Knock.

"Light, what was that? Are you alright? You're almost late for school-" it was his mother again.

"Don't worry about me, I just stubbed my toe. I'm almost ready to go," Light answered in the lightest tone he could muster.

Everything had to continue as usual.

His mother accepted his explanation and he heard her footsteps receding from the other side of the door.

Nothing was wrong. His body ached and he did not remember why, but life would continue as usual. Light Yagami had never been late to school in his life and being drugged and beaten would not stop him now. If nothing else, he could guarantee _that_.

As soon as his mother's footsteps had faded to the point where she would be out of sight, he slipped from his room, into the bathroom for his morning shower.

He fumbled with the buttons of yesterday's shirt. It was covered in dirt and spattered with blood at least some of which was his own. The mirror reflected back his own body, covered in bruises, scratches, and scrapes. He had never been in a fight before, but he had little doubt that this was what the outcome of one looked - and felt - like.

The cold water of his shower jolted him into a shaky awareness. It stung as it ran through the open wounds and did little to assuage the aching bruises. That would show whatever side of him- whoever had taken control of him the previous night, maybe make them think before doing whatever he had done.

 _Who had drugged him?_ The thought echoed in his mind as he walked to school - he arrived just in time.

 _Was it something he had eaten?_ He tried to remember as the teacher droned on at the front of the classroom.

 _The last thing he remembered was finishing the puzzle, that couldn't be a coincidence. Maybe it was something he had inhaled, a drug kept in the puzzle box that affected the mind over extended exposure..._

 _What had he done?_ He picked at his lunch to spare an aching stomach, lost in thought.

Classes continued unheeded. _Who had he gotten in a fight with? Why? Did they recognize him?_

He stared into the void, the gap in his memory that he could not repair. He only knew that anything had happened because of the state he had woken up in. Was this the only gap in his memory or were there more that he had somehow missed? No matter how careful he was, he could never be sure.

He would record everything. That way, he would forget nothing. If he ingrained the habit deeply enough, then even when he was drugged and out of control or half-conscious, he would remember to write and if there was a gap, he would know it.

He purchased a plain black composition notebook on his way home from school.

When he arrived, that day's paper, which he hadn't had time to read in the morning was still sitting on the table. He took it up to his room with him to read it. Buried in the local crime section was an article with the headline:

"Suspected Rapist, Takuo Shibuimaru, Found Brutally Injured"

That was the man Light had seen assaulting that woman the day before, the one he couldn't stop. Light would have recognized that face anywhere, mutilated as it was. He had been found in an abandoned warehouse. No one had seen his assailant.

There was no way… Could it have possibly been him? Could he have done this? There was no evidence, nothing connecting him to the scene of that crime, but a few mysterious bruises, there was lots of signs that he had gotten them fighting Takuo Shibuimaru…

He felt sick to his stomach.

He pushed it down. That man deserved every gash, every scream of pain he had no doubt let loose as he was being attacked by whoever had done it. The culprit… the culprit may have been another criminal, no better than Shibuimaru himself, deserving of the same fate. There were so many people who deserved Shibuimaru's fate and worse.

If Light was the one who had done it… _No_. Even if it had been Light's hands - which it hadn't - he hadn't been there, not consciously, it was someone else in control of his body doing inexcusable things…

… Inexcusable things like giving Shibuimaru the justice he deserved for what he had done, for poisoning this world.

What Light Yagami would give to destroy all the people who were poisoning the world… Was this the wish the puzzle box had promised?

His arms- his whole body was shaking, he wrapped his arms around his chest to stop himself as he let out a wild, unbalanced scream of a laugh.

* * *

For the first time in his life, Light Yagami was late to school. He would have been mortified were he not so exhausted. That morning his mother had finally jarred him into awareness with her incessant knocking at his bedroom door. He woke up battered and bruised, but not bloody - an improvement.

Awake was an overstatement. Functional was barely accurate. The very act of thinking - something that was supposed to come more naturally to him than breathing - was almost too difficult to be sustainable. But at least he still had the presence of mind to answer with a deflection when everyone asked him if he was okay.

He was drugged. It was getting worse. Light Yagami did not fall apart…

… Unless he was being drugged by a puzzle pretending to be an Egyptian artifact that he must have been "under the influence" to purchase in the first place.

His head ached.

He dozed off in class.

Everything ached.

His classes were all beyond meaningless anyway.

He tried to drag up memories of the previous afternoon, but the last thing he remembered was opening the puzzle box to write another entry in his notebook…

He needed to stop going into the puzzle box... He needed to stop exposing himself to whatever it was… Maybe it was too late…

In that morning's paper, there was an article whose headline read, "Escaped Criminal Jiro Jorogumo Burned Alive in Fast Food Restaurant."

Light remembered Jorogumo, he had been in the news the day before, he had escaped from prison, killing three guards in the process. Light had been thinking about Jorogumo the previous day as he opened the puzzle box to write his final entry in the notebook and now… Now Jorogumo was dead.

 _The world was a better place without him-_

And Light was covered in bruises.

The article said there was evidence of a fight.

This puzzle, whatever drug it - or its box - contained had stripped away Light's careful controls and brought out…

 _A monster?_

 _A savior?_

There was no proof. There was no evidence that he was the culprit. He had blacked out a few times and had a couple rough nights, it was enough of a problem on its own. There was no connection between him and what had happened to Shibuimaru and now Jorogumo.

 _He had wanted that man dead-_

There had to be countless others who wanted Jorogumo dead after hearing about what he had done.

 _Jorogumo wasn't the only one who deserved..._

There was no entry in his notebook for the previous day to deliver a definitive answer as to what he had or had not done. While drugged he clearly required a reminder to write.

Very well, he would make it painfully clear what he was supposed to do so that no matter what state he was in, he would be able to understand the instructions. He left the notebook open to a page that read in red ink:

 **Stop.**

 **Are you wearing the puzzle? Circle one: Yes No**

 **What are you doing?**

 **What have you done?**

 **What do you intend to do next?**

* * *

"Dark Magician? What the fuck is a Dark Magician?"

First he had found the puzzle hanging from his bed post and now this.

Inside the puzzle box, on top of his notebook, there was a whole stack of what Light vaguely recognized as childrens' playing cards. Upon further research, the cards were Duel Monsters cards, a children's card game created by the eccentric billionaire, Maximillion Pegasus. Light vaguely remembered seeing his classmates playing with them back in junior high school, but why had someone - himself or anyone else - put the cards in the puzzle box?

He had found the puzzle box sitting neatly on his desk, front and center. He did not remember putting it there. The door had been locked all night, he was the only one who could have put those cards there. He certainly hadn't wished for them to appear as his reward for solving the puzzle.

What was the last thing he remembered? Last night, what had he done?

He remembered taking out the box to write in the notebook, and then… nothing.

He was losing his mind- No! He had been drugged again. That was yet another strike against the puzzle, further proof that the puzzle or its box were the source of some contaminant that was making him forget, making him do things.

 _Things like brutally-_

What had he done that he couldn't remember this time?

 _Who had he-_

He had bought childrens' playing cards apparently. If he had gotten into another fight, if he had killed-

There was no evidence of it.

What did the notebook have to say?

A knock on the door stopped him short of looking into it.

"Light, you're almost late for school, are you sure everything is alright?" his mother asked from the other side of the door.

"Coming," Light said, he would have to continue his investigation later.

Later came that afternoon.

He got home and returned to his room to read his final entry in the notebook. Beneath the "questionnaire" for his drugged-self, he did not remember scrawling:

 ** _What is the meaning of this? You are my vessel, do you protest this arrangement?_**

Light stared at the words on the page as if they could answer all the questions buzzing around in his mind not quite articulated...

… The handwriting was strikingly similar to his own, but different enough to be unique.

… "my vessel" - who did he think he was? Was he having psychotic episodes? Dissociative identity disorder?

No! His mind was his own!

"What is the meaning of this?" did not answer his questions.

 _What had he done?_

He responded to the question his drugged-self had left in the notebook:

 **Who are you?**

 **Answer the questions.**

 _Second verse, same as the first, a little bit louder, a little bit worse._

For the second day in a row, Light Yagami woke up to the sound of his mother knocking at the door. He arrived at school late and spent the day practically sleep-walking. And amidst it all, a chant from a summer camp he had gone to as a child, which he thought he had managed to wipe from his memory entirely, floated in and out of his mind, exacerbating his already aching head.

His whole body was full of pain. Somehow he had convinced his blurred mind and aching body to stand in front of the mirror after school, so he could inventory the damage. Amidst the old, there were some fresh bruises and scrapes.

Yonegoro Nusumi, who had been acquitted of rape for lack of evidence, was found in a coma in an isolated location. There was evidence of a fight. The cause of the coma was as of yet unexplained. Jorogumo was dead. Shibuimaru was still in the hospital, recovering from his injuries.

 _Every day the world gets a little bit better…_

No, there was a serial… sometimes-killer on the loose. Whoever it was, they were going after criminals, but who knew how long that would last. They were unknown, uncontrollable, dangerous.

 _As much as their victims deserved it..._

The last thing Light remembered was writing in the notebook.

Below his note from the previous day was one he did not remember writing:

 ** _I_ _am Pharaoh Yami. The Millennium Puzzle is mine. The world is out of balance, I am restoring it._**

He was the culprit.

Whether he called himself Light Yagami or "Pharaoh," it was he who was going after the criminals.

Or he subconsciously wanted to believe that it was him and the drug was making him think that he had…

 _No!_

He needed to know for certain.

All of the other criminals had been ripped from the headlines, he needed someone only he would know about. Someone whose case had never been publicised would suffice, an old case, stowed away in some folder on his father's computer. A murderer who had evaded the police would do nicely.

 _He deserved to die - or failing that, be put into a coma…_

He was found in a coma in time for the next news cycle.

That settled it. This was Light's own work. When he blacked out, he became this "Pharaoh" and attacked criminals.

 _Finally…_ Finally, he was more than just helpless bystander. Finally, he could put his intelligence to good use. He could bring justice to a world in desperate need of it. He could eliminate the rot that poisoned the world.

He opened the puzzle box to write again in his notebook.

 **Let me sleep.**

Light had lost count of the days he had traversed as if in a daze. He had lost count of the number of times he was late to school. His grades were falling, people were past wondering if something was wrong - they knew. He couldn't let them know…

Criminals were being put into comas, at least one a night, but if he was caught now it would all be over.

* * *

 **What do you do to the criminals? How do you put them into comas?**

 _ **I crush their minds.**_

 **How?**

 _ **I defeat them in a duel.**_

 **What variety of duel?**

 _ **I defeat them at Duel Monsters and then I can use the power of the Millennium Puzzle to crush their minds.**_

 **Why play Duel Monsters at all? Can you crush their minds without first defeating them in a duel?**

 **What is the Millennium Puzzle? What are the full range of its abilities?**

 _ **Only when I have defeated someone in a duel can I reach into their soul and deliver judgement onto them.**_

 _ **The Millennium Puzzle contains my soul, I do not know its origin or the extent of its power.**_

 **Why Duel Monsters?**

 _ **It is familiar to me. I believe I played something like it a very long time ago. Perhaps it has some connection to the Millennium Puzzle. Do you know where it is from?**_

 **America. It was invented by Maximillion Pegasus.**

* * *

One morning's headline read, "Criminals in Comas, Crime Boss to Blame?"

The ungrateful fools! Light cleaned up the mess that the police left behind and this was the thanks he got? They mistook him for a crime boss and swore to hunt him down. He would show them the wrath of a god!

 _ **How dare you wish for me to strike down a horse for justice?**_

 **She called us criminals, this is the thanks you get for your work.**

 _ **You claim to uphold the cosmic order, but she is good and has not earned our wrath.**_

 **We are the cosmic order. You call yourself Pharaoh Yami, to go against the Pharaoh is as much a violation as the rest of the criminals.**

Along with his entry for the day, Light left a newspaper clipping bearing the headline, "'Ball Cap Bandit' Strikes Again."

 _ **Who are you that you claim to command such authority? And yet you wish for me to pursue a petty thief. How does a mere bandit warrant our intervention?**_

 **We are justice. As limited as your powers are, they can be used to remove those who are destroying the world. We can create a new world, free of evil, and we will be Pharaoh.**

 **As for the thief, he is a criminal, he has made the choice to break the law and so he will face the consequences of his actions.**

 ** _The thief's punishment does not fit his crime._**

 **I am not just a vigilante, merely punishing criminals one at a time is not enough! We can turn his crime into a public good to serve as an example to discourage others from committing crimes, bringing us closer to an ideal world.**

 _ **How does crushing the mind of a petty thief 'bring us closer to an ideal world'?**_

 **He has volunteered to serve as an example for what happens to people who do evil, make an example of him.**

 _ **I am not your servant and you are no Pharaoh. I will not subvert justice to your whims. Again you claim to uphold the cosmic order, but petty theft does not qualify as evil.**_

* * *

A package for Light Yagami from Industrial Illusions. Somehow Maximillion Pegasus had traced a single Duel Monsters card found up the sleeve of a comatose gang leader back to Light. There could be no other explanation.

Leaving a card at the scene of the crime had been a foolish mistake on the puzzle's part, but the police had made little of it and were of course unable to tie it back to Light. They had yet to launch a proper investigation - he had been keeping an even closer eye on his father's computer than usual. The coverage of his actions was overall underwhelming, even local police barely acknowledged the comatose criminals, far from the gratitude they owed him.

Somehow, Mr. Pegasus had figured it out all on his own and decided to contact Light. How had he figured it out? Did he want to challenge him or work with him? Or perhaps it was a plea for Light to spare him despite some past wrongdoing - it was about time, not that he would spare anyone who defiled the world.

Inside the package was a gauntlet with a bulky metallic cuff embossed with stars at even intervals. Accompanying it was a pair of golden stars that fit perfectly into the impressions and a VHS tape.

This was the puzzle's fault and the so-called pharaoh would have to answer for it. He removed the puzzle's box from its hiding place and slipped the tape into the appropriate slot in his television.

A man with long white hair, wearing a dark pink suit with a ruffled collar, appeared on the screen. "Greetings, Raito-boy."

Raito-boy? The words echoed in Light's mind as a sneer. If Mr. Pegasus wanted to underestimate Light, who was he to complain - it would make it that much more satisfying to crush him beneath his boot.

"I am Maximillion Pegasus. I have heard some terribly interesting things about you, Light. Your impressive defeat of that gang boss has intrigued me so much, I decided to investigate you personally."

"Fool! You can investigate me all you like! It will only bring you closer to your own demise!"

Pegasus smirked as if he could hear Light's challenge through the screen and answered it with disdain, "Right here, right now, we shall hold a special duel. We'll play with a strict time limit of fifteen minutes, and when time is up, the player with the highest life points will be the winner. Are you ready?"

"You think you can defeat me?" Light let out a dry chuckle.

The world began to waver and shudder around them as a sharp light burst from Pegasus's left eye - the one concealed by his long hair. Light's room seemed to fade into the distance until everything but he, Pegasus and the puzzle were gone, consumed by shadows and an unnatural chill.

"We're no longer in the world you know, but I shall return you after our game."

He reached for the deck of cards and felt his hands shuffling them as the world faded to black.

"Light!"

Sayu? What was she doing in the television?

"Yes, we will duel again, Light. How else will you ever reclaim your sister's soul?" Pegasus laughed as the image on the screen faded to static.

Where did that camp fool think he was going? What had become of their game? Why had the puzzle not put him into a coma like all the rest?

Sayu's body slumped to the ground in the doorway - where she had been frozen the instant she foolishly entered his room, begging for help with her work, no doubt. Pegasus had taken her soul to the "shadow realm" - which was where their duel had taken place, all according to Pegasus, at least.

Light remembered it. For the first time he actually remembered what had passed. He faintly recalled the so-called pharaoh in the puzzle dueling Pegasus, using those Duel Monsters cards. And he had lost.

Of course the puzzle had lost, Light was unsurprised by its incompetence. But there had been something unusual about how Pegasus had dueled, something important about that eye. Somehow, the Millennium Eye gave Pegasus the power to read his mind, or to suggest things into it. Either way, it was a powerful object.

That was how Pegasus knew of his actions. Such a powerful relic could not be safe in anyone else's hands. It was too dangerous, too powerful. And in Light's hands... The puzzle had proven that it was not enough for the creation of a new, peaceful world. He had no choice, but to take the Eye.

Pegasus had mentioned hosting a tournament and invited Light to join, that was why he had received the package in the first place, that was why Pegasus had taken Sayu. She was supposed to serve as an incentive to horse him into joining the tournament and it seemed the pharaoh had taken the bait, but Light found the Millennium Eye to be a much more worthy objective.

Maximillion Pegasus was a fool who had brought about his own demise, which Light would be more than happy to deliver.

* * *

Dear Mom and Dad,

I don't know what happened to Sayu, but I'm going to find out so we can help her. Don't worry about me, I'll be careful, I just need to do this. I'm Sayu's older brother, I should have been able to protect her, but I didn't and now she's gone, maybe forever. I have to do now what I couldn't do then.

I'll be back soon, and when I return we will be able to wake up Sayu, so we can all be together again.

Your son,

-Light


	2. We're on a Boat!

The latest news - a collection of public headlines and more private police bulletins from all around the world - flashed before L's eyes. The instant anything that could possibly be relevant entered L's wide sphere of awareness, Watari conveyed the highlights directly to L. For weeks - months perhaps - the detective had been without work. Sure there had been pleas for his aid, but nothing of sufficient seriousness to demand his involvement and nothing of sufficient interest to warrant it.

The Japanese Criminal Investigation Bureau Chief's daughter had fallen into a coma, it must have been a slow news cycle for Watari to consider that significant enough to send up to L… An "inexplicable" coma, slightly more intriguing, if barely - one percent. And this wasn't the only similar case, all the others had been too inconsequential for L to have been made aware of them on their own.

In all, twenty-seven criminals - suspected and known - in the same ward of Tokyo - not far from Chief Yagami's home - had been found in inexplicable comas over the past three months. News of one of the victims' crimes had never been released to the public, indicating that the culprit had access to a police database.

Most recently - the night before Sayu Yagami was found in a coma - thirteen people, all members of a gang, were found unconscious in an abandoned warehouse. Twelve had been electrocuted from standing in a puddle with a taser. One, the gang's leader, was comatose and showed no evidence of electric shock.

Sayu Yagami had never been suspected of a crime in her life, suggesting two distinct culprits using the same weapon. One put criminals into comas out of a misguided sense of justice. All of their victims had committed serious crimes - or were suspected of committing them - but were at large for one reason or another. The culprit had a particular vendetta against organized crime.

The timing of the other suggested an act of vengeance for the destruction of the gang the night before. They had targeted Sayu Yagami either because she was directly connected to the culprit or for her connection to Chief Yagami as an authority who should have prevented it. The culprit had likely witnessed the gang's destruction and discovered the culprit's unique weapon to use it themselves.

Uncovering the weapon that could put people into comas without a mark would lead him to the culprit. And as to the weapon, there was one clue; up the gang leader's sleeve was, of all things, a single children's playing card. A Duel Monsters card… That was not the first time L had seen the game mentioned in concert with inexplicable disaster. Several years ago, several employees at Industrial Illusions, the company that invented and manufactured Duel Monsters, had all died mysteriously, allegedly because of their involvement in a top secret project.

* * *

"Hello?" Chief Yagami answered his office phone.

An electronically modulated voice came from the other end, "This is L."

L? The detective must have been pursuing a case so important that his office hadn't even been informed of it.

"I want you to assign one of your men to enter the Duelist Kingdom tournament," the voice of L continued.

"Duelist Kingdom?" Yagami asked - was it some sort of secret operation, or an illegal tournament of some kind? - "What type of tournament-"

"It is a Duel Monsters tournament, hosted by Maximillion Pegasus."

"Duel Monsters?"

"A children's card game."

"Just one moment! I know that if L is investigating a case, it must be important, but we barely have enough men for the cases under our jurisdiction. Why do you need a police officer to go undercover at a card game tournament?"

"It has to do with what happened to your daughter."

"What-?"

"Several criminals have also been put into comas. I have reason to believe that the culprit played Duel Monsters with his victims and will be at this tournament."

"If you're certain, I suppose we can spare one officer..."

"Someone who is already familiar with Duel Monsters or who can learn quickly. They must be able to pass for a young adult."

"I'll see-"

"You will receive a package in the mail which you are to give to whomever you choose for this assignment. Inform no one else of my investigation."

L hung up with a click before Chief Yagami could protest.

The conversation done, L returned to the two lists of names before him - on one side were all the employees of Kaiba Corp and on the other all the employees of Industrial Illusions.

* * *

"Play the trap card," an electronically modulated voice echoed in Touta Matsuda's ears, "Not that trap card, the one on the far left."

First L had dictated his every trade, forcing him to replace most of the monster cards in his deck with traps and magic cards, and then he couldn't even place a single card on the field without an alternate suggestion from L. This wasn't even an official match! It was just a practice match, for fun!

Matsuda hadn't played Duel Monsters in years - not since junior high school - but when Matsuda first put the speaker in his ear, L had said that he had never played the game before and that Matsuda had been chosen for his experience with it. He later found out that none of the other officers considered for the assignment had ever played Duel Monsters before.

He knew L was brilliant, Chief Yagami had told him about the independent detective's reputation when he gave Matsuda the assignment. There was something really cool about having the mysterious L talking in his ear. He felt like a spy on an important mission. But having L critique his every move got annoying pretty quickly.

L had told him, "I don't like losing," when they first talked, and Matsuda had assured him that they would win and they would, but there had to be a better way.

Matsuda returned the card he was about to play to his hand and retrieved the card L had suggested, "I place one card face down and end my turn."

His opponent, a boy who could not have been older than 15, if that, grinned like he was about to win, "I flip Absorbing Jar into attack mode," he turned the card face down in front of him rightside up, "That activates its special ability! That trap you just placed is history! And now my monster is free to attack, destroying your monster and wiping out the remainder of your life points! I win!"

"Wait a second!" Matsuda exclaimed, still reeling from his sudden defeat.

He grabbed his opponent's Absorbing Jar and read the description. Sure enough, it destroyed all spell or trap cards on the field, Matsuda had lost before he even had a chance to draw cards to replace the ones he had lost.

Matsuda heard grumbling on the other end of the line. He wanted to protest, but it would have to wait until they were out of earshot of anyone else.

"Good game," he held out his hand and smiled, even though his third defeat in a row still stung a little.

His opponent took his hand with a grin and they shook on it, "With a little more practice maybe you'll even be able to win a duel."

"You think? I hope so." Matsuda answered in the most earnest voice he could muster and then stood to leave.

"Good luck in the tournament!" the boy called after him.

Matsuda made his way out to the deck of the ship. It was late, he suspected past the bedtimes of most of the children who would become his competition when he reached the island - not like most of them seemed to care. At least most of them were inside, in their shared quarters, and as he stepped out into the cold night air, he understood why. He suddenly wished he was wearing a suit - as stuffy as they were - instead of the more casual t-shirt.

"If you keep losing, they'll become suspicious. I thought you knew how to play this game," the inhuman voice said into his earpiece, he wasn't the only one who was disappointed by their losses.

Matsuda tried to keep his voice cheery, "I haven't played in years, I just need to get used to it, that's all. Your 'suggestions' haven't helped, they've just confused me."

"You're sure you're alone? If you're caught before you even get onto the island-"

"I made sure, I know what I'm doing."

Matsuda knew he wasn't the best officer, he was young and inexperienced and as much as he liked the idea that Chief Yagami had chosen him for this assignment because he trusted him, he knew that wasn't really it. Even though the chief's daughter was one of the victims and even though the great L had taken an interest in the case, none of the other men could be spared on such an insignificant local matter. Matsuda, however, could be spared. It wasn't like he had been doing anything particularly important to begin with.

But Matsuda didn't mind. They were right, he hadn't been working on anything important. Maybe this was the breakthrough he needed to actually be taken seriously on the force, but not even L was taking him seriously. He shouldn't have been surprised by it, but it was still frustrating.

"Anyway, it's not so bad, right? We're not trying to win-" Matsuda continued.

"Don't say that out loud," the voice of L scolded.

"There's no one here!"

"Do you want to get caught?"

"What? No, of course not..."

"Then be more careful."

"We won't be able to do anything if we can't work together. Arguing like this isn't getting us anywhere."

"What course of action do you recommend?" if he didn't know better, Matsuda would have sworn that the heavily synthesized voice was mocking him.

Matsuda was about to make a retort when he heard a shout coming from a ways away. Had something happened already? Matsuda bolted toward the source of the sound. Was L right? Was the person who had put all of those criminals into comas really on this boat? Had he attacked someone already?

A bunch of kids were gathered around the edge of the boat. One of them, a short boy with spiky black hair, threw himself over the rail - was he trying to kill himself?

"Wait!" Matsuda shouted.

He pushed a green haired boy aside and looked down over the edge of the ship. He saw one pinprick of color in the water immediately, a blond head barely staying above the surf. The black haired boy was harder to see, but not far away, also struggling against the current.

"Throwing yourself into the water won't save them." L said.

"I know!" Matsuda exclaimed, "I need a ladder!"

The green haired boy was laughing; he wasn't about to help. Matsuda needed a ladder, but there wasn't going to be one up here, it was all guest rooms. But he had seen crates on the deck below, there had to be some way down there, some sort of maintenance stairwell, poorly marked. He ran back inside and glanced at each wall as he ran past. It had to be around here somewhere.

There!

"Damn!" the handle wouldn't budge.

He put his foot to the door and shoved down all his weight onto it. The door came crashing down and he slipped down the stairs. A jolt of pain shot up both his legs and into his chest, but he couldn't fall down on the job now. He forced himself to his feet and ran out into a storage room. There was someone there, rummaging in the crates.

"I need a ladder!" he shouted.

"I know! I'm searching as fast as I can!" a boy shouted back, his frantic tone matched Matsuda's own.

"Tristan! I found it!" a girl shouted from the opposite doorway.

"What are you waiting for?" the boy - Tristan - exclaimed and raced after her.

Matsuda ran after them, a sharp pain ran up his legs with each step he took, but he couldn't stop now. The girl had piled a ladder by the rail and they were fighting to get it over the edge.

"Here, let me help!" Matsuda grabbed the other end of the rope ladder and tied it to the rail as tight as he could.

The other two hauled the last of ladder over and it dangled from the edge of the ship into the water.

"Yugi!" the girl shouted.

"Joey!" Tristan shouted.

Those must have been the names of the boys in the water. They were still bobbing there, barely holding their heads above the water as they gasped for air. What if they couldn't reach the ladder, if the current was too strong for them.

"Wait up here!" Matsuda told the kids and swung himself over the rail onto the ladder.

It was blowing wildly in the ocean breeze, he almost couldn't climb it and he hadn't just struggled for his life in the ocean.

"They've grabbed on!" the girl said, "They're safe!"

"Not yet!" Tristan said.

Matsuda glanced down over his shoulder. The tiny spiky-haired one was half-carrying the blond one up the ladder. Matsuda clamored down to them and hoisted the blond boy over his shoulder.

"Can you climb?" he asked the spiky-haired boy.

He nodded.

"Good," Matsuda said.

With one hand holding onto the blond boy to keep him from falling to his near certain death, Matsuda hauled himself up the ladder one rung at a time. Tristan and the girl helped the blond boy and then himself onto the deck, and the small boy soon joined them.

But he couldn't stop there, he had to make sure they were okay! Was the blond boy breathing? Was he alive? Did either of them need medical attention? Where could he find a doctor on a ship in the middle of the ocean? He doubted Pegasus had thought to have one aboard.

Matsuda crawled on his hands and knees over to the blond boy who seemed to be the worst off. He was breathing, but it sounded like there was a bit of water in his lungs, he needed to get it out. The boy began to cough. The others helped him onto his hands and knees.

The smaller boy was also coughing.

As Matsuda knelt on the deck of the ship, panting, his whole body aching from exertion, listening to the boy cough the water out of his lungs, it hit him-

"They're alive!"

"Why are you shouting?" the electronic voice sounded in his ear again.

"Thank god! We actually saved them!"

"I can see what you see, do not advertise to the world that you are wired."

Matsuda didn't answer. Even L couldn't ruin his mood. The small boy was standing with Tristan and the girl, next to the blond boy. They were all back together, all safe, the sight of it would make anyone happy.

He backed up to the wall and shifted himself back on aching legs into a sitting position to catch his breath.

Eventually, after the blond boy - Joey, they called him - had stood up and his friends were certain he was okay, all four of them turned toward Matsuda.

The small boy - Yugi - was the one who spoke, "Thank you."

"Of course! You're welcome!" Matsuda exclaimed, somewhat startled through the haze of exhaustion - though he was certain the two boys who had nearly drowned were much worse off, it was remarkable they were on their feet already.

"Yeah, what Yugi said - thank you and all." The blond boy added.

"You're both welcome! I'm just relieved you're alright!" Matsuda answered honestly.

"So are we, let me tell you..." Tristan remarked.

"What he means to say," Tea said, "Is thank you for helping rescue our friends."

Matsuda felt a blush of embarrassment creep across his cheeks, he was just doing his job, "Don't worry about it, you were all really brave!"

"What's your name? I'm Yugi Muto." Yugi interrupted the cycle of increasingly awkward thank you's.

That was the boy who had just beat the champion! Matsuda had read about it while doing some research on Duel Monsters to prepare himself for the mission.

"I'm Joey Wheeler."

"Tea Gardner, nice to meet you."

"And I'm Tristan Taylor."

"It's nice to meet all of you!"

"Don't blow your cover!" The voice of L echoed in his ear.

"I'm Taro Matsui." He felt bad for lying to them, he was sure they were harmless, but L was right, he had a mission to complete and Matsuda knew that his identity had to remain secret.

The sound of approaching footsteps startled them into motion before they could say another word. Tea and Tristan waved them behind a pile of crates and they all sat there in silence as the footsteps passed back and forth around them. Matsuda wondered if L knew what was going on, but he knew better than to ask.

"Your small friend with the strange hair just beat the Duel Monsters champion," the voice in his ear began without warning.

He knew that! He resisted the urge to tell L as much in front of the kids.

"They are otherwise all unknowns. They attend Domino City High School, in the same ward where many of the coma victims were found." L continued.

Did that mean that L considered Yugi to be a suspect? That was absurd! Did he really think the small, innocent boy was wandering the streets at night, putting criminals into comas by whatever means? He knew people weren't always what they seemed and he had known the boy for all of a half hour - if he was being generous - but did L really suspect this child?

"I think they're gone." Tea said, her voice still quiet and cautious.

"Are you sure?" Tristan asked.

She nodded.

"I'll check." Matsuda offered.

He crawled to the edges of their hiding spot and peered around the crates in all directions.

"The coast's clear!" He reported back.

All of the others let out sighs of relief.

"We should probably try to get back to the guest quarters now." Matsuda suggested.

Tristan let out a nervous laugh.

"It's not so simple," Yugi said.

"Yug, are you sure?" Joey interrupted with a suspicious glance at Matsuda.

"Yeah, we could get in a lot of trouble." Tristan said, following his friend's gaze.

They seemed to be debating whether to tell him something, but he could still hear them...

"He did just help save Yugi and Joey, I trust him. Anyway, it's not like they'd throw us off the ship now." Tea said.

He wasn't any danger to them, but if he was a proper authority here or if they really were doing anything serious, they would have almost entirely given up their game. He appreciated their trust, but even he knew better… Was this what everyone on the force - and now L - saw when they looked at him?

"What's going on? Is there anything I can help with?" Matsuda asked.

"It's not a problem really," Yugi said, "We just can't all go back up because Tea and Tristan aren't competing in the tournament."

"How did you get out here then?" Matsuda asked, each passenger had been checked for star chips and a gauntlet before they were allowed on the boat.

"We stowed away on board," Tristan said.

"We couldn't just let you and Joey compete in the tournament alone, we wanted to come and support you. We're your friends, we'll always be there for you!" Tea said.

People actually talked like that? But she did sound genuine...

"Thank you Tea, that means a lot!" Yugi said with a small smile.

"Yeah, you'll need all the help you can get to win the money for Joey's sister's operation," Tristan said, his teasing tone a little more normal for what Matsuda expected a kid his age to sound like.

Joey protested, "Yug and I don't need your help, but so long as you're here I suppose you can watch us win."

As Tristan and Joey bickered, Yugi turned toward Matsuda, "What are you going to Duelist Kingdom for?"

"My younger sister, actually. I'm not much of a duelist, but she plays and when she got the package from Industrial Illusions, she was so disappointed that she couldn't go - she's in the hospital with a broken leg - and so I agreed to go to the tournament for her and bring her back the trophy," Matsuda recited.

"Looks like you have some competition, Joey." Tristan said.

Matsuda gave a somewhat uncomfortable laugh. Even though he wasn't actually competing in the tournament, he didn't like the idea of beating a kid out of the money for his sister's operation for a person who didn't exist - no one would. It didn't quite seem fair that these kids who were trying to get money for an operation had an equal chance of winning the prize money as someone who just wanted it for themselves. The title should go to the winner, of course, but he wished there was some way to ensure that no matter who won, the money went to whoever needed it most - though he supposed that was what charities were for…

For that matter, was this really the best way to get money for an operation? Didn't Joey have parents, with jobs, who were supposed to take care of things like this? It almost sounded like a case of child neglect, though that wasn't what he was investigating.

"Ask them about potential suspects," L ordered into the headset, and tacked on, "Without revealing your purpose."

The implication that he would give them away stung, but Matsuda was grateful for the change of topic.

He had gone over the questions to ask more times than he bothered to count since L had explained the assignment to him, and still the words came out a bit rushed on the first real go, "Speaking of competition, who are all of these people? I had no idea a Duel Monsters tournament would attract such a huge crowd."

"This isn't just any tournament," Joey said, "It's a pretty big deal. Your sister must be pretty good to have gotten an invite, though no one's as good as Yugi, not even that creep, Seto Kaiba!"

"Seto Kaiba is the CEO of Kaiba Corp. and the inventor of the hologram technology used in Duelist Kingdom. He was the Duel Monsters champion until Yugi Muto beat him in an unofficial match." L said.

"I think I've heard of him…" Matsuda said, "He owns a company, right? And he was the champion until Yugi- until you beat him! That's awesome! I didn't realize I had met the new champion!"

"I'm not the official champion…" Yugi demurred.

"Not yet!" Joey said.

"So, what's so 'creepy' about Kaiba?" that sounded like it might be a lead to Matsuda.

Joey was about to answer, but Tea shot him a glare and gestured at Yugi.

The small boy hesitated a moment before finally answering, "I only dueled Kaiba because he stole my grandfather's Blue Eyes White Dragon and put him in the hospital."

Matsuda hoped L was catching this, "He beat up an old man?"

Yugi shook his head, "He just dueled him and won. My grandfather is pretty old, the holograms were just too much for him, but he's doing much better now!"

"Especially since Yugi beat Kaiba!" Joey said.

"Those must be some holograms…" Matsuda remarked, "You're sure he didn't do anything to hurt your grandfather? You dueled him, right? Did he try anything strange during your duel?"

"I don't think he did anything else," Yugi said, "Kaiba's a great duelist, but he's brutal, especially with those holograms - they're so lifelike! He also doesn't believe in the heart of the cards."

"The heart of the cards?" Matsuda wasn't sure he had heard the boy properly.

"You don't know about the heart of the cards?" Joey asked, as if everyone knew about it, as if it was suspicious that he didn't.

Was this something Matsuda should have known about? Had he accidentally blown his cover? He had said that he wasn't much of a duelist, that should have covered it, and if even Kaiba, the champion, didn't know, it shouldn't have been that big of a deal, right? It was better that he learn late than never so he'd know later.

"My grandfather taught me about how Duel Monsters aren't just cards," Yugi explained, "Each monster has its own spirit, each deck has a spirit. It's very important for a duelist to have a close bond with his deck."

It sounded like some sort of cult. What was he getting himself into? Probably nothing, they were just kids with superstitions that they staunchly defended like any kid would. He was just on edge because he was undercover, everyone had to be a suspect, including a possible cult of the "heart of the cards."

"I'll have to keep that in mind…"

"That's how Yugi beat Kaiba," Tea explained, "They're both great duelists, but Kaiba didn't believe in the heart of the cards."

"Not to mention that Yugi's an even better duelist than Kaiba will ever be!" Joey said.

"How does the 'heart of the cards' work exactly?" Matsuda asked, it was probably just a superstition, but he had to make sure.

That gave the others pause. Matsuda was right, just a superstition.

"Well, when I'm in a tight spot, I trust in my deck and I usually draw just the card I need," Yugi explained, "And then with the holograms you can really see it, each card has a personality and everything and it really makes a difference. The more you need a card to come through for you, and the more you believe in it, the more likely it is that it'll come through."

"Stay focused," L instructed, his modulated voice almost sounded bored.

Matsuda supposed L was right, this was getting a little off topic. If L didn't suspect the cult of the "heart of the cards" Matsuda didn't have a reason to either.

Matsuda nodded and redirected the conversation, "So who else is in this tournament?"

"Well, there's Rex Raptor and Weevil Underwood, the regional champion and runner up," Yugi said - was there a hint of darkness in his tone?

"Don't get me started about Weevil!" Joey cracked his knuckles as if he was preparing to punch someone.

"He's the reason we were in the water in the first place," Yugi explained.

"And he's a dirty cheat!" Joey put in.

"He stole my Exodia card - the one I used to beat Kaiba-"

"It was the most powerful card in Yugi's deck."

"And he threw it in the ocean. Joey jumped in after it."

"Idiot, you almost got yourself killed!" Tristan exclaimed, "Over a card!"

"Five cards," L remarked.

Matsuda was inclined to agree with Tristan. Joey had jumped into the ocean after a few cards. As rare or powerful as they may have been, someone's life wasn't worth that. He was starting to reconsider that cult thing. It was probably just teenaged recklessness, but that was a little much…

L could probably parse the difference between the two. It was probably a good thing that at the end of the day it was L solving the case, not Matsuda, as much as Matsuda wanted to be able to help.

"So, Underwood and Raptor are the regional champions, is there anything else about them?" Matsuda asked.

Underwood, at least, didn't sound like the culprit. He must have been the one laughing while Yugi and Joey were nearly drowning, he didn't seem to have enough of a sense of justice to go after criminals, though one could never be too sure. The culprit had also put Chief Yagami's daughter into a coma, and she was no criminal.

"Other than Weevil being a total creep?" Joey said, the question was clearly rhetorical.

"Well, Weevil mainly plays bug monsters," Yugi said, "They may look weak, but when played right they can overcome even the strongest of monsters."

"But you won't have to worry about him because Yugi will be taking him out first! Right, Yug?" Joey said.

Yugi nodded, "I'll try, at least."

"Then there's Rex Raptor," Joey continued, "He uses powerful dino cards to overwhelm his opponent. I still can't believe he lost to Weevil's puny little bugs."

"So they're rivals?" Matsuda asked.

"You know, I'm not really sure…" Yugi said, "They seem to hang around each other a lot, but I don't know if they're friends."

"Thank you both a lot for your advice! Anyone else I should keep an eye out for?"

"Don't forget Yugi and Joey!" Tristan said.

Matsuda laughed, "You guys may be a little out of my league for now. Maybe by the time we all reach the finals I'll be ready to duel you."

"I look forward to it!" Yugi said.


	3. Attention Duelists!

Light Yagami was surrounded by card-game obsessed idiots.

Ever since dueling Pegasus, Light had spent every spare minute searching for information about the game they had played. The so-called pharaoh had lost to Pegasus once, so Light would have to duel Pegasus himself the next time they met, if there wasn't a less contrived way to get that eye of his. And even if there was another way to get the Millennium Eye, Light would first have to defeat several top-ranked duelists to reach him.

All of Light's research had not prepared him for this.

"Is that a Dark Magician?" one of his fellow contestants was staring at Light's card as if it was something of actual value.

If anyone made another insipid comment about some card...

"That's so cool!" The boy prattled on, "But it can't beat my Amazoness Queen!"

"Yeah it can, you dolt," another boy chimed in, "Dark Magician's attack and defense are higher than Amazoness Queen's."

"One on one, maybe, but with all my other Amazoness monsters on the field, he'll be toast!"

"You're all talk! Let's duel and see what you're really made of!"

"You're on!"

With barely another word to Light, the boy handed back the Dark Magician and ran off to find a dueling arena, leaving Light alone. Finally.

Why did it have to be card games?

He had little cause for complaint, under a month of preparation was more than enough to beat any of the idiots on this island foolish enough to go up against him. He had prepared six decks for the tournament along with the pharaoh's deck, which he had augmented almost beyond recognition. He had even made a few last minute trades to better suit his future opponents. Between all seven decks, he could counter any strategy. He knew the rules of the game, inane as they were, as well as any expert.

That didn't mean he had devoted his life to the game. It was a means to an ends, an inevitable nuisance, not a way of life. For those around him, however, they talked of nothing else. The boat ride alone was enough to drive a man to madness. But soon Pegasus's eye would be his and then it would all be worthwhile. He would be one step closer to becoming god of a new, perfect world!

But first, he had to win some card games.

All around him, people were dueling in garish arenas that had emerged from the ground. Clearly, no expense had been spared, Pegasus seemed intent on wasting his fortune on card games. It was a pitifully unsubtle trap - all of this nonsense for the Millennium Puzzle. If Pegasus was able to find Light, he could obviously find the owners of other Millennium Items with comparative ease and so this could not be a lure for the rest.

The entire exercise was absurd. Even in the unlikely case that Pegasus possessed some critical knowledge that Light lacked, hosting a tournament could not have been most rational solution. But Light already knew that Pegasus was a fool; he had challenged Light, afterall. Going through all of this nonsense would be worth the satisfaction of bringing Pegasus to his knees and ripping out his Millennium Eye.

"Hello," someone dared to interrupt his thoughts.

Light gave the young man - slightly older than most of the people in the competition that he had seen so far - his most disarming smile, "Hello, I'm Akira Wakahisa, nice to meet you." He held out a hand for the man to shake.

The man seemed somewhat taken aback, and took a few moments before he recovered enough to shake hands, "Nice to meet you too, I'm Taro Matsui."

 _Taro Matsui? What was he doing in a card game tournament? Though that did explain the wire he was wearing…_

Light had heard about Taro Matsui in the news a few days ago. He was suspected of killing two people, but had evaded capture by the police. Light would have sent the puzzle after him, but he was too busy preparing for the tournament. But now he had his chance, if only there weren't so many people around. It would have to wait, but for the time being he could gather information, figure out who his employer was - and if he somehow knew about Pegasus's Eye - and then he could get rid of them both.

"Do you want to duel?" Light asked.

"Sure! I'll wager one star chip," Matsui answered.

Not a very confident duelist, Light wasn't very surprised, he doubted most criminals were particularly well versed in Duel Monsters - that was probably how the puzzle had been able to defeat all of them.

"I'll match you with one of my own," Light said

"We should probably find an arena…"

Light shouldn't have been surprised, criminals tended to be less intelligent than the average lot, not more. As "cool" as the flashy holographic arenas were, it was pure idiocy to play in front of all the competition, and it seemed most of the others only had one deck each. There was no rule prohibiting them from dueling outside of the arenas and so Light saw no reason to duel in them.

"Actually, I was hoping we could keep this duel a little more casual. We're each just wagering one star chip after all..." Light feigned embarrassment.

"Good idea." Matsui seemed somewhat relieved, "Are we allowed to do that?"

Light shrugged, "There's no rule against it."

"Alright, let's duel!"

They spent the next few minutes making themselves comfortable and shuffling their decks until they were finally ready to play.

Light considered taking out the puzzle and letting it duel for him, then he wouldn't have to sit through a card game, but the puzzle would not have been of any use in gathering information. It was good for very few things, he had strongly considered not even bringing it to the island. Anyway, it would be foolish to reveal his hand quite so early in the game, especially if the criminal had come to the tournament on account of Pegasus's Eye.

"You can go first." Light offered, letting Matsui draw - it was best to wait and watch, not like he would need the advantage to beat this amateur.

"If you're sure," Matsui drew and after some hesitation, played two cards face down.

Was he using that wire to cheat? He wasn't surprised, but the criminal would need more than just a few good friends to beat Light.

"So what brings you to this tournament?" Light asked as he drew his first card, "You must be pretty good to have gotten an invitation."

Matsui gave an awkward laugh - was he trying to get caught? Light hoped his excuse was amusing at the very least.

"My little sister's the duelist, she's the one who got the invitation to the tournament, but she's in the hospital with a broken leg, so I'm doing my best to bring back the gold for her," Matsui explained.

A little sister story, so predictable. On the surface it was fairly believable, Light supposed, it explained away any lack of skill and could even provide an excuse for the wire if it came to that, but whoever Matsui was working for must have lacked any creativity whatsoever. If things continued as they were, Light might have just left Matsui and his employer to the authorities out of sheer boredom.

"Oh, what's your sister's name?" Light asked.

"Naoko," Matsui answered, "I don't know if you would have heard of her, I don't think she's participated in any big tournaments…"

He was prepared for basic questions at the very least.

"Now it's your turn," Matsui continued, "What's your reason for participating in this tournament?"

Light laughed, "I just like dueling, but I've met a lot of people here who have really serious reasons for wanting to win. I'm just looking forward to dueling Pegasus."

Now to see if he took the bait…

"Pegasus is the inventor of Duel Monsters, right?" Matsui asked a little too carefully.

Hook, line, and sinker. It was impossible for someone on this island not to know who Pegasus was. The only reason to ask would be to fish for information, if for example one had been hired to acquire the Millennium Eye. The game of questions had begun. Whoever revealed information lost and Light would not lose.

"Yeah, he's the one hosting this tournament, whoever wins gets to challenge him to a duel," Light answered with common knowledge and posed a question of his own, "You didn't know that?"

Matsui shook his head and gave a sheepish little laugh, "I don't really know that much about Duel Monsters. That's cool though! You'd have to be good to beat the creator of the game, I bet he has a ton of super-rare cards! Do you have a strategy planned for dueling him if you win?"

Light gave Matsui his most enigmatic smile, "I have a few ideas, but it is difficult to strategize without knowing what cards he has or how he plays."

"Yeah, I hadn't even thought of that…" Matsui let the conversation die in a standstill.

Light did not press it, he had gathered all the information he was going to from this line of questioning. Matsui placed a card face down and ended his turn. It was a trap card, Light was certain of it. He summoned another monster onto the field and-

"You activated my trap card! My Trap Hole destroys your monster!" Matsui exclaimed.

Light was looking forward to wiping the smile off of his face. If Light retrieved the puzzle from his backpack he would win in a turn or two without a doubt- No, he would win this duel on his own, the puzzle would only hinder him. All the cards in Light's hand were worthless, his vengeance would have to wait until next turn. For now, a single card face down would suffice.

"You said a lot of the others have serious reasons for wanting to win? Like what?" Matsui asked, as though his temporary victory had earned him the right to demand more information from Light.

Light shrugged noncommittally, he wasn't about to give the criminal and whoever he was working for any inkling as to whether or not any of the other competitors were after the Millennium Eye, "There was one guy who wanted to buy a boat to look for his lost father, that sort of thing."

Matsui nodded, "I met a few kids who wanted the prize money to pay for their younger sister's operation."

No matter what Matsui was attempting, he was thoroughly outclassed. Giving Light some useless information was not going to prompt him to divulge something in turn. If instead Matsui was using their common alibi - an injured younger sister - to indicate that he was not the only one after the Eye, he was even more of a fool than Light had initially taken him for. Whether he was trying to intimidate Light or entice him to work with him, he had failed before he even began. That was not to say, of course, that Light couldn't make use of the misguided fool.

"Who?" Light asked lightly.

"Yugi Muto and Joey Wheeler, I think those were their names," Matsui hesitated.

The boy who beat the champion and his friend, Light wasn't sure who was less intelligent; Matsui or those boys who had so willingly handed rare, apparently unbeatable cards to their competition. The most interesting thing about Yugi Muto was his hair. Either Matsui was lying or this explained Muto's sudden rise to prominence. They must all have been working for someone else going after the Millennium Eye, Matsui was likely at the tournament to support Muto. But the question remained, who were they working for?

"Your monster is destroyed, you lose another 300 life points!" Matsui exclaimed.

A lucky play. Light would bring him to his knees! A calm, knowing smile remained plastered across Light's face.

"You look pretty confident for someone who's down nearly 1000 life points. You must have something up your sleeve." Matsui said with a happy tone that could only come from a certainty that he was going to win.

Light would make sure he suffered for that assumption.

"You're doing pretty well for someone who has barely ever played Duel Monsters before."

Matsui shrugged, "Just a few lucky moves, I guess."

Light took his turn and waited for Matsui to take another.

"What's that in your ear?" Light exclaimed, as if he had suddenly noticed the wire, "I wouldn't accuse you lightly, but are you cheating?"

"What?" Matsui appeared taken aback - anyone would, no matter what they were guilty of.

"Are you cheating?" Light demanded.

There was a long pause, several emotions crossed Matsui's face, chief among them frustration and embarrassment. His employer was certainly telling him off for being discovered, Light felt a twinge of satisfaction for his efforts.

At last Matsui spoke, first to his employer, "It'll be alright," and then to Light, "It's my sister."

He took that long to come up with such an obvious and easily disproved explanation. If Light had any expectations for him, he would have been disappointed.

"She couldn't come to the tournament herself," Matsui continued, "So I came here in her place, but I couldn't leave her out of the action!"

Only a fool would believe it, he didn't play well enough to be coached by someone who had actually gotten into this tournament. His employer was clearly little better at the game than Matsui himself, unless they were trying to lure Light into a false sense of security.

"That's still not fair for your opponents, I thought I was playing you, not your sister. It's still cheating."

"I'm sorry," Matsui said, "If it's any consolation, Naoko let me play for most of this game since it was just a casual match."

 _Just?_ They had another thing coming if they thought Light was anything less than the most formidable opponent they would ever face. Light barely stopped himself short of pulling the puzzle out of his bag and letting it give this criminal his due right then and there. But not yet, it would have to wait just a little longer. If Matsui's sister or boss - it didn't matter which - had decided to let Matsui duel for himself as he said, they clearly weren't even trying to win, not like they had much of a chance either way.

"Can I at least talk to the other person I've been dueling this whole time?" Light asked.

Matsui hesitated, but finally relented, "Naoko, the guy I'm dueling with wants to talk to you."

There was a pause before Matsui handed him the wire. Light put it up to his ear.

"Hello," he said.

"Hi," a girl answered nervously.

Matsui's boss had done this right at the very least.

"You're Akira Wakahisa?" She asked.

"Yes, and you're Naoko Matsui." They both knew their roles, there was no point in asking for her name.

"Y-yes," she said, "I'm sorry for cheating, you've been a worthy opponent, I'd like to duel you in person some time."

It was a trap. She was planning on leading _him_ into a trap, she obviously had no idea who she was dealing with.

Light was more than willing to oblige and take the opportunity to show Matsui's employer her place, "I would be honored to duel such a talented lady as yourself."

"We should meet as soon as I can walk again," she exclaimed, her high voice only betrayed an irritating bundle of enthusiasm and nerves, "How should I contact you?"

Light gave her the number of a phone he had purchased just in case something like this happened.

"See you soon!" Matsui's employer exclaimed, "Can I talk to my brother for a moment?"

"Of course, here he is," he handed the wire to Matsui, "But take the wire out for the rest of the duel, I want to face you alone this time."

Matsui took the wire and listened to his employer for a moment before saying his goodbyes and putting it down.

Finally, he drew another card, put one face down, and ended his turn.

Light then took his turn, matching Matsui move for move. He had no Monsters out, but he didn't need them with all his trap cards serving as his defense and offense.

Matsui drew and attacked - how much of a fool was he? Light flipped his trap card, destroying the attacking monster and taking half of its attack out of Matsui's life points.

"Not so fast!" Matsui interrupted, flipping another trap card.

Upon further inspection, Matsui's trap destroyed all other trap cards on the field. The attack went through, sending Light down to 100 life points.

As soon as the turn was done, before Light had even drawn a card, he pulled the puzzle from his bag and put it around his neck. The world faded to black.

* * *

Matsuda watched Chief Yagami's son, his opponent in this duel, in confusion. What was he doing with a giant gold pyramid, in the middle of a card game no less? However, Matsuda had to admit that wasn't the strangest thing about his duel with Light Yagami. Matsuda had no idea what the chief's son was doing at a Duel Monsters tournament under a fake name. He didn't know what L knew about it, but if L didn't want him to ask about the fake name, he wasn't going to.

Light Yagami drew another card and examined it. His persistent calm smile that had been beginning to unnerve Matsuda was finally gone, replaced by a serious expression. His posture had become more open, with an almost commanding air. He was suddenly taking the duel seriously. Matsuda wasn't sure what the giant, gold pyramid had to do with it exactly, maybe it was a good luck charm. He wondered what L thought of it, but the wire that was usually in his ear had been removed and even if it hadn't been, he wouldn't have been able to ask.

The chief's son summoned a monster in attack mode and used it to destroy Matsuda's own monster. It was refreshingly direct compared to all the traps and trap-traps they had been using. Matsuda was much less refreshed when he held back from attacking due to a face down card and his new monster was destroyed on the next turn - he later discovered that the facedown was a bluff.

Even as he was winning, the chief's son remained straight-faced.

"Why suddenly so serious?" Matsuda asked lightly in an attempt to break the ice that had suddenly formed.

There was a long pause, Light Yagami stared at him, as if examining him in an attempt to pull answers from his soul.

Finally he spoke, his voice halting, but still steady, "Who are you exactly?'

"Me?" Matsuda asked, taken aback - hadn't they already gone over this? - "I'm Taro Matsui, I'm also competing in this tournament - not for myself, but-"

"But who _are_ you?" Light Yagami asked again with more emphasis.

"What do you mean?"

"Where are you from? What do you do? You are clearly not a duelist, nor are you young enough to be a student..."

 _Was Light Yagami asking about his profession? Why? Did he recognize Matsuda as the chief's junior officer?_

Fortunately Matsuda's alibi was thorough enough that he already had an answer, "I'm just a normal guy, I guess, I live in Tokyo, I work in an office, it's pretty boring to be honest. I'm studying sociology to do something more interesting. I'm not much of a duelist, but Duel Monsters is a really interesting phenomenon - from a sociological perspective… Why do you ask?"

Chief Yagami's son stared at him for a long moment - was he alright? It almost seemed like he didn't understand what Matsuda had said. Maybe the heat had gotten to him. The golden pyramid around the younger man's neck glinted in the morning sun, the light reflected into Matsuda's eyes, forcing him to squint.

"So who are you, then?" Matsuda asked when there was no answer.

"I am a duelist." He answered, suddenly sure and confident, sending another one of Matsuda's monsters to the graveyard.

"Where did you learn to play?" Matsuda asked, putting another monster in defense mode.

There was another long pause.

"I... I don't know," Light Yagami answered at last.

It would not have been unusual for someone to forget where they had picked up a children's card game, Matsuda was entirely uncertain as to how he learned to play Duel Monsters back in junior high, but the way in which Light Yagami had said it made it sound serious. He seemed confused. Did he need medical attention? Matsuda was strongly considering telling the island's authorities to find someone who could get him to the hospital, but this was Pegasus's island. With everything L had told him about Maximillion Pegasus and the research he had done on his own, Matsuda wasn't about to trust him with anyone's mental health, let alone his boss's son.

"Don't know in what way?" Matsuda asked in an attempt to gauge just how concerned he should be.

"I… don't remember," Light Yagami answered, "I just know how to play."

This was such a far cry from the calm, almost too poised young man he had been playing against just minutes before. He didn't seem like an altogether different person, just a little different and suddenly lost. What was wrong with him? Matsuda would have said he was "just" losing his memory - a serious problem and unusual for a young man, but explicable - but that sudden shift in his demeanor said otherwise. Did he have some form of multiple personality disorder? Matsuda wasn't even sure how that actually worked, outside of movies.

They each took another turn.

"Do you remember talking to my little sister?" Matsuda asked.

The chief's son nodded.

"Do you know where you are?"

A hesitant, "Yes."

"Are you sure you feel alright?"

"Yes," he said, and after a pause he continued and he sounded alright, "Enough questions, let us duel!"

He was more than alright, he suddenly had a sort of passion that had been entirely absent until then. Light Yagami drew another card, intent on the game. His expression was serious.

"I play Dark Magician and Mystic Box. Mystic Box is stabbed with my Dark Magician inside, but it is your trap card that is destroyed, leaving your monster open for another attack by the Dark Magician! It eliminates the remainder of your life points, I win!"

It took Matsuda a moment to realize exactly how he had lost. Another moment passed as he stopped trying to figure out ways to counter and finally accepted his defeat. As the game wore on, his questions may have started throwing Light Yagami off, but his game had improved beyond recognition. Light had been one more attack away from losing when he put that pyramid around his neck, maybe it really was a good luck charm.

"Good game." Matsuda said, extending a hand for Light Yagami to take.

They shook hands.

The chief's son put the pyramid away and gave Matsuda a benign smile, all intensity gone, "I enjoyed dueling you, I look forward to seeing you and your sister again."

"Same here!"

Light Yagami was about to leave when Matsuda asked on a whim, "By the way, what was that pyramid you were wearing?"

"My younger sister gave it to me," he answered with a smirk.

Matsuda picked up the wire and watched Light Yagami walk away.

"He cheated," L said in his usual electronically modulated voice, the instant the earpiece was back in, "That should have given you control of his monster."

"Do you suspect him?" Matsuda asked - as important as the card games were, the investigation took priority.

"Be careful." L interrupted.

"No one's in earshot."

"Follow him-"

"I am." Matsuda had waited until Light Yagami was just barely out of sight and set off after him, into the woods.

"I'm 72.4 percent certain that he is the culprit. Keep an eye on him."

"What about the others?" Matsuda asked under his breath. He was walking up the path through the woods at a leisurely pace, keeping just barely out of sight.

"Not yet."

Matsuda supposed he would just have to await further instructions. Until then, he made his way up to the edge of the woods where he stopped and watched Light Yagami continue onto an open plain. Several other people were already dueling around him. He stopped to watch one of the matches.

"He knows we're following him." L remarked.

"What? How?" Matsuda hissed.

"You were obvious."

"Hey! I know how to follow suspects, if you weren't distracting me-"

"Quiet! I can't hear them over you."

"Why couldn't you just come here yourself if you insist on doing everything anyway?"

There was no answer. Matsuda hadn't exactly expected one, in retrospect, the question was mostly rhetorical, more of an exclamation really. Matsuda didn't mind undercover work, it was a nice change of pace to do something he actually knew how to do for once. Ever since he had started working under Chief Yagami, he was constantly surrounded by officers with more experience, compared to whom he was just a naive child.

He hadn't expected better from the brilliant L, but he had hoped that maybe working one on one with a detective, doing what had earned him the promotion to Chief Yagami's junior officer in the first place, would have made him feel less like an idiot. And then he met L - started talking to him through an earpiece that is, they had never met in person, he didn't even know what L's actual voice sounded like. What L wanted wasn't someone to do the fieldwork for him, he wanted a robot he could control from the safety of his own home, wherever that was.

Meanwhile, the duel that Light Yagami had been watching ended. He was talking to one of the two boys who had been playing, Matsuda couldn't hear what they were saying - L hadn't bothered to hook up the long-range microphone to Matsuda's headset, only his own. After a few minutes of talking, they stepped up into the arena.

Light Yagami pulled out his pyramid necklace and faced his opponent with utmost seriousness. The duel soon began, and he summoned a monster which appeared in the arena as a giant dragon that looked almost real. Matsuda suddenly understood the tremendous devotion this game had acquired.

He was about to sit down and make himself comfortable when he heard L's voice in the headset, "I've seen enough."

Oh well, at least Matsuda could finally get back to work, "Time to talk to all the other contestants?"

"Yes. Be more careful."

"You said that already-"

"And don't lose another duel or you'll be eliminated."

Matsuda decided not to answer and instead scanned the field for anyone who wasn't in the middle of dueling. Not far away he saw the boy with green hair who had been laughing at Muto and Wheeler on the boat talking to another boy about the same age with purple hair.

As he approached, he heard the green haired boy - Weevil Underwood, he thought his name was - saying, "I already beat you, your star chips are rightfully mine."

"Like hell I'm going to give you even one of my star chips! You only won because I went easy on you," the boy with purple hair retorted.

"If you insist, I'll duel you again for it."

"Why should I duel you? You don't have any star chips to give me."

"You're not going to win, so it doesn't matter."

"I'd crush you!"

"Hello," Matsuda interrupted before they started dueling, "You're Weevil Underwood and Rex Raptor aren't you?"

"Who's asking?" Raptor demanded.

"Just some no-name chump," Underwood said in an attempt to wave him off and bring Raptor's attention back to himself.

"I'm Taro Matsui, it's an honor to meet the regional champions." Matsuda said.

"You can take his star chip instead," Raptor suggested, "He looks like he's right on your level."

"I'd rather not risk my remaining star chip, if it's all the same to you, especially if you don't have any of your own to wager."

"Even smarter than he looks," Raptor said to Underwood.

"You lost all of your star chips already?" Matsuda continued, "To who?"

"Get lost! You can waste your time chattering away, but if you don't want to duel, go somewhere else and stop wasting our time," Underwood interrupted, it was clearly a sore point.

"He lost to Yugi Muto," Raptor said, his voice dripping with disdain.

"Yugi Muto beat Seto Kaiba, right?" Matsuda asked.

"By cheating, and that's how he beat me!" Underwood insisted.

"Cheating how?"

"He can't have beat me or Kaiba any other way! There's something fishy about the way he plays."

"Weren't you swearing a week ago that Kaiba lost because he's losing his touch?" Raptor said.

"That was before I met Yugi. He's not good enough to beat you, let alone me or Kaiba."

"Why isn't Kaiba here?" Matsuda asked.

"Because Yugi beat him," Raptor said as if it were obvious.

"You lost to Weevil and you're still here…"

"You're going to lose to me in a moment!" Raptor looked like he was about to skip the duel and punch Matsuda.

Matsuda held up his hands in surrender, "I didn't mean it like that! I was just wondering about why Kaiba isn't here after he just lost one unofficial duel."

"I guess he just can't stand to lose," Underwood said.

"Unlike you…" Raptor retorted.

"You're still talking to them?" L asked, "Ask about Light Yagami."

It would be suspicious if he brought up Yagami out of the blue, but he had wasted a lot of time with these two already.

Matsuda stared out at the duels taking place around them for a moment, barely processing Raptor and Underwood's argument, before finally speaking once more, "Do you know who that guy is, I think his name is Akira Wakahisa or something - the one dueling Light Yagami?"

"What now?" Underwood demanded, "Didn't I say to get lost?"

"Never heard of Akira or Light," Raptor said, "I've never seen the guy on the red side before, though I recognize the guy in the blue from some tournament or other."

Matsuda shrugged.

"Are you done pestering us?" Underwood said.

"I'll see you guys around later, I guess," Matsuda said and left the pair to bicker as though he had never interrupted.

He made his way back through the woods in search of other duelists, perhaps one of them would be more helpful. The path led toward a stream that came from a waterfall. He could hear a few men - they sounded older than most of the kids at the tournament - talking in English as they approached on another path.

"... then we take their star chips," a man with sunglasses and a bandana decorated with the American flag was saying as he led three others toward the waterfall.

"Don't waste time," L instructed.

L was right, Rex Raptor and Weevil Underwood had been a waste of time, but he didn't know for sure about anyone until he talked to them. He would try to make it faster, but he made no promises, his boss would just have to wait a little while.

"Hello," Matsuda said in Japanese to the approaching group.

"'Bandit' Keith Howard," L said, "He makes a living by winning tournaments."

People could do that? Matsuda knew about the three million dollar prize, but it was still a competition for children. It wasn't something he expected adults to do for money, but then again it was amazing the things people did for money.

Howard and his companions stopped short in front of Matsuda. Two of the others - the tall black haired man and the shorter redhead - exchanged a few words Matsuda didn't quite catch and had a laugh between them. Matsuda had a feeling that whatever they said could not have been particularly flattering and possibly boded ill for him in the near future.

"Only one star chip, he's not even worth it," Howard remarked to his companions in English before rounding on Matsuda and demanding in accented Japanese, "Who are you?"

"I'm Taro Matsui, and you're 'Bandit Keith,' aren't you?"

"I see my name has traveled far. What do you want? You're not crazy enough to challenge the American champion to a duel, are you?"

Matsuda shook his head like the novice duelist he was pretending to be - and was.

Howard laughed, "I like him, knows his place! How'd you even get into this tournament? I suppose even old Maxie needs cannon-fodder, so much for an elite tournament."

"You know Mr. Pegasus?" Matsuda asked in an approximation of awe.

"Pegasus, Pegasus, that's all anyone talks about! Gets tiresome as hell if you ask me."

"Not a fan of his?"

"Perceptive today, aren't we? No, I don't like the overrated cheat."

"Cheat? What does he do?"

"Don't sound so surprised, your inexperience is showing. If you really want to know, I dueled him in a tournament in America and at the end of the duel he called over a child from the audience to help him beat me, they must have cheated - that's the only way he could have won - and I'm here to get my victory fair and square!"

"By cheating," L said.

"I've heard a lot of crazy things about Pegasus..." Matsuda said.

"Haven't we all? No one has anything better to talk about around here. It's simple, he's as bad as the rumors suggest and not half as good."

"Anything in particular to look out for?"

Howard laughed, "You think you have a chance of even getting to the finals, let alone dueling Pegasus? Do you want me to put you in your place after all? I've heard that he can read minds, see the future, and control people like puppets, it all boils down to cheating. They say he's killed hundreds, can steal souls and was even married once - to a woman. People will believe anything."

Matsuda nodded, "True. What about the rest of the competition? You seem pretty well informed."

"Trying to use my knowledge to give yourself an advantage? Good luck, if you can't beat the rest of these losers on your own, you don't stand a ghost of a chance."

"Next." L suggested.

And so Matsuda took his leave of "Bandit" Keith Howard.

"Not a suspect?" Matsuda asked.

"He obviously had no more information for us." L said instead of answering.

According to the gaggle of boys Matsuda talked to next, the duelists to watch were "Bandit Keith, Mai Valentine, Mako Tsunami, Rex Raptor, and Weevil Underwood" - "Hasn't Weevil already been eliminated?" - not to mention the eliminators hired by Pegasus to take people out.

"Don't forget Yugi Muto." One boy piped up, "He's the reason Kaiba isn't here."

No one knew much of anything about Yugi, but Kaiba was less of a mystery: "He's ruthless. He invented all the holograms. He has all the rarest cards. He's got a ton of money. I hear he killed his own father. The only person who's ever beaten him in a duel is Yugi Muto."

No one had ever heard of Light Yagami or Akira Wakahisa.

It was around noon when Matsuda encountered what appeared to be the only woman on the island - other than Yugi Muto's friend, Tea Gardner. She had found a remote arena in the mountains and was dueling the only other person for about a mile around. Matsuda took a break to have a bite to eat and watch the duel.

"My Valentine," Matsuda was almost certain he had misheard what L said, "She makes a living participating in tournaments and winning the prize money."

"Your what?" Matsuda asked.

"Her name is Mai Valentine."

Matsuda laughed, though he knew he probably shouldn't have. What sort of parents named their child "Mai Valentine?" He felt kind of bad for her, though she seemed not to mind.

She was winning, Matsuda could tell that just from the way she and her opponent were standing, how she looked so confident and how he looked distraught. She was a grown woman - a very attractive one at that - beating children at a children's card game, she was just like "Bandit Keith."

"Stay focused," L said, "This is no joke."

"Sorry, it's just her name is a bit unusual, that's all."

"We are not investigating the contestants' names, as suspicious as they may be."

Had L made a joke? Matsuda wasn't sure whether to laugh or not, so he ended up just saying, "No, of course not."

"The duel is over. Pay attention," L said, any trace of humor that may have been in his electronic voice was gone, replaced by the usual impatience.

Matsuda put away the remainder of his lunch as Valentine and her opponent dismounted from the arena. Hopefully she would be more cooperative than the other people he had interviewed since she was in a good mood from winning.

She strode over to Matsuda as he got to his feet, "Been waiting long for your chance to be beat by me in a duel? You're not even a kid, you're what, eighteen? You can almost pass for an adult." She laughed at him.

Maybe her being in a good mood wasn't such good news after all. Still, Matsuda laughed with her.

"You and 'Bandit Keith' are the only adults I've seen on this island," Matsuda remarked, "If you don't mind my asking, what are you doing at a children's card game tournament?"

"Excuse me!" she demanded, "I'll have you know I'm one of the top ranked duelists in the world, I've won more tournaments than years you've been alive - not like that's saying much. If you don't believe me we can duel here and now!"

"I believe you."

"Scared you'll lose your one remaining star chip?" she taunted.

Matsuda nodded vigorously.

She seemed somewhat surprised, but forged on regardless, "You'll never win if you're too scared to duel, but that's your loss, not mine, I can find plenty of losers to beat, this island is full of them."

"Any particularly noteworthy losers?" Matsuda asked.

"All the losers are the same to me, I'm looking forward to seeing that boy who beat Kaiba in action, but the rest are all just a waste."

Everyone mentioned Yugi Muto. To think that little boy was such a big deal, beating Seto Kaiba must have been really impressive.

"I suppose you don't remember Light Yagami or Akira Wakahisa, then?"

"Be careful," L ordered.

"I can't say I have," Valentine answered, "Are they friends of yours?"

Matsuda nodded.

"It's a shame Kaiba himself couldn't be here, isn't it?" he remarked after a pause.

"If you're asking me, I say it's less competition for the rest of us, but how you feel about Kaiba is up to you," Valentine said

"I don't know how I feel about Kaiba, with all the rumors going around."

"There are hundreds of rumors floating around every celebrity, does it really matter when it comes down to it?"

"They're some pretty nasty rumors."

"Look, you can sort this out on your own time, I just care about how you duel, nothing else." Matsuda was about to protest when she continued, "I don't mean you specifically, if you don't want to lose your star chip yet, that's up to you. If you don't want to duel, I can show you something you can tell your loser friends about when you say you met me."

"What do you mean?"

"Here," she handed him her deck, "Shuffle it well."

"Sure," Matsuda said and did as he was bid.

"Now pick a card, any card."

He did so.

"Don't show it to me. That's Harpie Lady."

She was right. It was some sort of magic trick.

Before he could ask how, she answered, "I have ESP - extrasensory perception - as far as my deck is concerned, at least. I can recognize any card without even looking at it, I'll even close my eyes so you can be absolutely positive I'm for real."

He drew another card.

"Harpie's Pet Dragon," she was right again.

"Close your eyes," L said.

What? Why would L instruct him to close his eyes? Matsuda had been thinking it had something to do with all her cards having "Harpie" in them. Or maybe she just knew her deck really well and had a lot of repeat cards. He had shuffled it, so she couldn't have interfered with which cards appeared when. Maybe she could read minds or tell the future like Pegasus was rumored to be able to - then again, probably not.

But if L was telling him to close his eyes, that meant she was probably using one of her other senses.

"If you're not convinced, do another." she said.

He sifted through the cards. Not all of them had "Harpie" in the name and there weren't many repeats. Maybe L was right, there was only one way to tell.

He closed his eyes and picked another card. As soon as he put the others down, the haze of perfume that he had assumed Valentine had been wearing receded and was replaced by a single strong smell.

He was about to call her out on the trick, but maybe he could milk the ESP line of questioning a little more first. Not to mention that he didn't mind holding some information over L, for once.

"What do you smell?" L asked.

"Cyber Armor," Valentine spoke over him.

"You're right! That's pretty incredible!" Matsuda exclaimed, his eyes open wide.

"You still haven't figured it out?" L's electronic voice was incredulous.

Valentine gave a small, smug smile.

"I've heard Pegasus has similar abilities," Matsuda remarked.

"You and your rumors again. Don't you ever think for yourself?"

"Sure I do, I just listen to what everyone else says too."

"We've wasted enough time on her," L said.

Matsuda supposed he wouldn't call her out on it after all. He bid Mai Valentine farewell and continued on his way.

As soon as he was out of earshot, Matsuda said, "Each card is covered in a different perfume, she recognizes the smells."

"As I had concluded," L answered.

"Of course."

Matsuda wandered down the mountain and made his way toward the coast, talking with everyone he encountered, but all in all it was more of the same. A few people had been beat by Light Yagami - all of them identified him as "Akira Wakahisa" - but none of them knew anything Matsuda hadn't gathered. Few had noticed anything of note about him at all.

The sun was beginning to set as he reached the ocean. The sky was painted in oranges, reds, yellows, and purples, reflected in the shimmering water.

"You seeing this?" Matsuda exclaimed, "It's beautiful!"

There was no answer on the other end.

Matsuda stood on an outcropping over the sea for a little while, talking a well earned break. He stared out at the sky as his mind wandered.

After a time, the scent of food, fish cooking on an open fire wafted into his nose and his stomach growled. He pulled out some more of his camping food and ate an altogether unsatisfying diner.

"Where there's a fire there are people. Talk to them." L said, he sounded impatient, almost angry.

"I know, I know, I'll go talk to them." Matsuda answered.

He put away the food and made his way along the coast, wandering toward the source of the smell. He enjoyed the view as he went, watching the color deepen and then slowly fade from the sky as it turned a dark, star-studded blue, though he knew better than to comment on it.

At last he came upon a small campfire. It was tended by a young man in nothing but a swimsuit.

"Hello!" Matsuda called out to him.

"Hello!" The young man answered, his voice was somewhat stiff, giving the impression of an accent, "What brings a weary traveler such as yourself to my campfire?"

"Mako Tsunami," L said, "He won 3rd place in the Japanese National Tournament."

"Just following the smell of that fish you were cooking," Matsuda answered.

Tsunami laughed, "You come in search of a meal then? Or a duel, perhaps?"

"No, neither, just some company and a warm fire."

"Very well, my friend, take a seat and make yourself comfortable."

"Thank you," Matsuda sat down across the fire from the young man, "I'm Taro Matsui."

"My apologies, I am Mako Tsunami."

"It's nice to meet you, what brings you to this tournament?"

"Get to the point," L said.

There was no rush this late in the evening. There would probably be duels throughout the night despite it being way past most of the contestants' bedtimes, but unless L insisted on it, Matsuda did not intend to continue his investigation until morning. He doubted there would be enough people out at night for it to be worth the sleep deprivation.

"The prize money, what else?" Tsunami answered, "I will use it to buy a ship to continue the search for my father who went missing at sea when I was young."

This was the boy the chief's son had mentioned who wanted to buy a boat to look for his lost father. He was still pretty young, probably not much older than Yugi Muto. It was amazing how many young people were trying to win the prize money in a card game tournament for such serious things. Did Tsunami have a mother? Why had all these children taken the fates of their relatives upon themselves?

"Good luck!" Matsuda answered, and he meant it.

If the finals came down to Tsunami and Joey Wheeler or Yugi Muto, he wasn't sure what he would do, maybe they could agree to split the prize money - three million dollars was a lot, even for the things they needed it for. But Mr. Pegasus wasn't running a charity, he was holding a tournament, with a reward for the winner. Whoever won, it would be because of their skill, not their need.

"Why are you competing in this tournament?" Tsunami asked.

"I'm here for my younger sister, she was invited to compete because she plays Duel Monsters, but she's in the hospital with a broken leg. So I'm here in her place, to bring back the trophy for her even though she can't be here." Matsuda explained.

"Excuse my saying, but you aren't doing too well with that, my friend." Tsunami said with a glance at Matsuda's gauntlet, which contained a lone star chip.

Matsuda shook his head, "Unfortunately, I'm not at the same level as she is, when it comes to Duel Monsters. Why Duel Monsters for you? I can't imagine it's the easiest way to earn money."

"I was just waiting for my father to return when I received a package containing a Duel Monsters card and an anonymous note that read 'Don't give up.' On that day I swore I would never give up and would use it to find him. I duel for him and he gives me strength and determination!"

It was an incredible story. Was it the lie?

Light Yagami had mentioned him during their duel, perhaps they knew each other. But according to Mako Tsunami, he had never heard of Light Yagami or Akira Wakahisa. He didn't know much of anything about the other contestants. The only ones he had ever dueled were Rex Raptor and Weevil Underwood in the Japanese National Duel Monsters Tournament.

Eventually, they turned in for the night. Matsuda lay in his sleeping bag a little ways away from where Mako had set up camp by the embers of a slowly dying fire.

Some of the contestants Matsuda had talked to were participating in this tournament for money, others for the title, some for revenge, and others for the ones they loved. Which was the lie? It would be easy to blend in by claiming to play for money or the love of the game or the title. Those who competed for the ones they loved stood out, but they all seemed so genuine that made them hard to suspect, which itself made them suspicious. "Bandit Keith's" revenge seemed too far off the mark, but what if that was on purpose. What if they were all lying?

Matsuda stared up at the night sky, letting his mind get lost amidst the stars. There were so many more of them and they were so much brighter here than in the city. He pointed his glasses up at the stars too, so L could see them if he wanted to, maybe get his mind off of things too, though it was probably a moot point.


	4. A Ghost of a Chance

Cold manacles clamped themselves around his ankles. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't move, let alone escape. Spits of flame blasted past, barely missing him, the wave of heat that followed almost singed his skin.

The Pharaoh jolted into control as if he were waking up from a nightmare. But the nightmare wasn't over, there was still someone important in danger, he could feel it. He had to save him!

Light Yagami - or Akira Wakahisa? - was standing in the dark woods, the sun had already set. The last thing the Pharaoh properly remembered was winning a duel. Now, his vessel was wandering through the woods, as he recalled with some effort. He needed to know where he was and, more importantly, where whoever that person in danger was!

He could feel something pulling him and he set off at a run, pushing past brambles, dodging between trees. His ankles stung as they scraped against the underbrush through thin pants, but he did not hesitate. Soon he could hear shouting in the distance. Shouts of fear. A high voice, so familiar though he could not place it, rose above the rest. They pushed him on, urging him to run faster and faster before it was too late.

He burst out of the woods into a small clearing. An arena was surrounded by frightened onlookers. Up in the duelist's places were a man with a terrifying chin and an even more worrisome expression of sadism, and a small boy who was in danger.

"Stop!" the Pharaoh shouted over the din.

Everyone gathered there turned toward him.

"What now? Are we going to duel or what?" the man demanded.

"Unhand him at once!" the Pharaoh strode over to the arena.

As he had seen in his vision, a boy was shackled to the platform. He did not appear injured, but the Pharaoh suspected it would have been just a matter of time had he not interfered. Who was this strangely familiar boy, with spiked hair, that was so important he appeared to the Pharaoh in visions?

"Who do you think you are? I'm one of Pegasus' eliminators, last I checked you didn't own this island!" the man said.

"I am the justice that will prevent you from harming this innocent and avenge all those you have harmed before!" the Pharaoh declared.

The man laughed, a deep unhappy laugh that was supposed to be unnerving. It only served to make the Pharaoh angrier.

"You'll have to wait in line if you want to duel me," the man said, "Maybe watching what I do to him will be enough to unseat you from your high horse."

"I will duel you in his place!"

"It's too late! When he agreed to duel me he entered into my fearful domain. Only when he loses can he leave!"

"Stop bullying children. Face me now or are you too afraid to have a real duel?"

"You are the one who will be afraid!"

The boy was released to his friends and the Pharaoh took his place on the platform. Cold manacles clamped themselves around his ankles. Spits of flame blasted past, barely missing him, though he felt the wave of heat that followed.

* * *

PaniK shouted and the Pharaoh was surrounded by columns of flame, but the fire did not consume him, he did not even feel unpleasantly warm. The light did not blind him, only illuminated. Directly across from him, where PaniK stood, he saw a human-sized shadow amidst the flames.

How many people had PaniK killed this way? He would face justice for his crimes!

The Pharaoh shoved out his hand taking PaniK's soul and severing it from his body with a single gesture. His body crumpled to the ground and the flames fell.

The Pharaoh stood alone, victorious, on the dueling platform under the night sky. The children who had been watching the duel stood several feet out, huddled together for safety. The Pharaoh dismounted from the arena, taking PaniK's star chips with him.

The small boy who the Pharaoh had rescued from PaniK's grasp stepped forward in understanding.

"Here," the Pharaoh handed him the star chips, "I dueled him on your behalf."

"Th-Thank you," the boy said, but did not accept the tokens, "Are you okay? That's another time you've risked yourself to save me."

"I'm fine. Are you?"

The boy nodded, "Of course," he gave a small smile, "I'm not the one who dueled him. Are you sure about the star chips?"

"Yes, they are yours."

"Thank you," the boy said again, but still refused the star chips, "But they're not actually mine, they were stolen from Mai," - he gestured toward the tall woman standing a little ways away from the rest - "I was going to fight PaniK to get them back for her."

The Pharaoh nodded, his hand still outstretched to give Yugi the star chips, "They are hers then."

"Come on, I'll introduce you," the boy led him towards her with a smile.

His smile only lasted a moment as the expression was soon overcome by embarrassment, "I'm sorry, I still don't even know your name. I'm Yugi Muto."

Light Yagami or Akira Wakahisa? Neither name was his own...

"You can call me Yami," the Pharaoh said at last.

They stopped in front of the woman- Mai, and Yugi introduced them to one another.

"What do you want?" She demanded, "Your princess is in another castle - you're not getting a kiss for your troubles."

"It's not that at all!" The Pharaoh protested, "I dueled PaniK on Yugi's behalf and according to him," - he glanced at Yugi, who nodded reassuringly - "These star chips are rightfully yours."

She shook her head, "I lost them fair and square, I don't need your charity. I know I'm out of this tournament and if I needed to rely on anyone else to fight my duels for me, I wouldn't deserve to be in it anyway."

"But PaniK wasn't dueling fair!" Yugi exclaimed, "He's one of Pegasus's goons, not a real duelist! You saw what he almost did to Yami, no number of star chips is worth that!"

"Yami won, didn't he? So those star chips are rightfully his."

"If they are mine then I give them to you," the Pharaoh said, "With Yugi's permission, as I won them on his behalf."

She put up a hand, "I don't accept charity."

"Yami's giving out free star chips?" Yugi's blond friend exclaimed, barging into the conversation and sweeping the star chips out of the Pharaoh's hand, "It's my lucky day! If Mai doesn't want them, I'll take them!"

"Hey!" Mai exclaimed, "They're not yours to take, give them back!"

The star chips were out of the Pharaoh's hands. It was past time to return his vessel's body to its rightful owner. The Pharaoh removed the puzzle and let the world fade away as he put it back in his pack for safe keeping.

* * *

"What happened to him in there?" a tall boy demanded from a little ways away - near a dueling platform.

Light came into awareness surrounded by children, all staring at him expectantly. There was something going on that the pharaoh couldn't handle, which could have been anything other than card games. Even card games were a struggle, Light was waiting for the day when he was called out in the middle of one to clean up the mess the so-called pharaoh had made. It was only a matter of time.

Where had the puzzle taken him? It was supposed to only take over during duels, but of course it didn't comply. He vaguely remembered dueling someone - PaniK, the man collapsed on the platform. No! Had the idiotic puzzle blown his cover?

"Excuse me, I didn't quite hear you, what did you say?" Light asked into the small crowd, that should give him enough context to remember the rest of what was going on.

The others looked confused, but seemed to shrug it off.

The tall boy spoke up, with a gesture at PaniK "I said, what happened to him? He's breathing, but only barely."

"I don't know…" Light hurried over to PaniK's side, "Is he alright? He must have passed out, we need to call a doctor!"

"Serves the creep right if you ask me! He would have done all that to Yugi if you hadn't stepped in!" the blond declared with a glance at Light - maybe he wasn't as stupid as he looked.

"I'm happy to help. But whatever he did, we can't leave a man like this," this fate was much more dignified than what PaniK deserved, as his faded memory suggested.

"Pegasus!" the blond shouted into the air, "Oi Pegasus! This guy needs help!"

To no one's surprise - except perhaps the blond who was in fact as stupid as he looked - there was no reply.

"There's no point in shouting," the woman who had been speaking to him spoke up, as if she wasn't stating the obvious, then again these idiots seemed to need the clarification, "Pegasus will do what he wants with his employees, if he's not doing anything there's no one on this island who can and will help him."

"We should at least move him off the platform," Yugi Muto suggested.

"Are you sure about that?" the woman said, "You saw what he almost did to you."

Muto nodded, "I don't know if we can keep him at our campsite, but we can't just leave him there like that. We should at least put him somewhere that Pegasus can find him."

This boy was putting on an act, he had to be. No one would genuinely feel concern for PaniK, especially not after what he had done to Muto and his companions. These were the people that Taro Matsui had mentioned also having an "ill younger sister." Light had suspected that their common alibi indicated that they were also pursuing Pegasus's Eye, this confirmed it. The puzzle hadn't blown his cover, instead it had stranded him with Taro Matsui's accomplices.

The tall boy and the blond moved PaniK off of the dueling platform, onto the arena itself, where he could be easily spotted. And if he wasn't, he would be attacked by giant holographic monsters, which was closer to the fate he deserved.

"It's late," the only girl said with a yawn, "We should get back to camp. Joey and Yugi can't duel half asleep."

"Yami, you're welcome to join us," Muto said as the others made their way back into the woods.

"Dark" instead of Light, was he attempting to make a joke? No, Muto should have known Light as Akira. "Yami" was the name that the puzzle had given on his behalf, he vaguely remembered. Light thought he had made it clear that he was to identify himself as Akira Wakahisa for the duration of the tournament, but of course simple instructions were beyond the puzzle. At least he didn't try to pull any of that "pharaoh" nonsense, but now he had a nickname to explain away. Or he could use the puzzle's mistake to cover his tracks.

And then there was the offer to join them. He was going to decline to waste any more time with these fools, but the fact that the puzzle had come out to take him here - he had a faint memory of running through the woods searching for them - meant that there was something about these people that had drawn the puzzle to them. Did it really want to work with them that badly? He doubted they would be of much use in attaining the Eye; they weren't exactly the brightest lot. But he had all the star chips he needed already, it wasn't like he had anything better to do with the time. Perhaps Taro Matsui would join his comrades and he could get rid of them all at once. The puzzle had proven more useful than he had expected.

"Thank you," Light answered, "Though I don't mean to intrude."

"You've risked your life to save me so many times, it's the least I can do," Yugi said.

It was just one duel, as far as he remembered, and he puzzle hadn't exactly risked his life. He did remember fire, but it was clearly long gone. Had they met before? Had they witnessed the puzzle putting any of those criminals in comas? Or perhaps they were associated with criminals he had pursued...

"I don't know how you survived the duel," Muto continued, "For a moment there we all thought you were dead."

It had been a trap. They had used the puzzle's weakness to try to kill him because he was on to their operation. But they had made a fatal mistake, whoever they were, they didn't stand a ghost of a chance against Light.

"I don't know how I survived either," Light said, he remembered being surrounded by fire, but he was not burnt, "I guess it was all just special effects, something must have gone wrong on PaniK's end."

"I'm just glad it didn't hurt you instead," Muto said with a smile.

No, they were not merely trying to trap Light, they were trying to recruit him. They knew they needed his intelligence, PaniK must have been a test - they had doubted him - and he had passed, so now they thought he would join them, or they would dispose of him. The very idea made Light want to laugh.

"So am I," Light said with a careful smile of his own.

He was about to continue speaking when they came upon a small clearing in the woods. They had set up camp and must have left in a hurry, because their belongings were scattered about as if they had all been dropped in the middle of being used. Fortunately for them, no one had come by and stolen anything.

Light was the last to step into the clearing. As he did, he heard a rustling noise in the bushes behind him. It was probably Taro Matsui, coming to join his colleagues for their collective demise.

The girl yelped belatedly.

"What was that?" Muto said.

Light maneuvered out of the way as the others ran over to the source of the noise. He positioned himself so that he could watch the others and Matsui when he emerged. If they thought they would trap him that easily, they had quite a few things coming.

A humanoid figure emerged from the woods, much smaller than Matsui, with long white hair and a blank expression.

"It's Bakura!" Muto exclaimed.

Another ally of theirs? The island was rotten with them. Perhaps they were associated with Pegasus. He had known this tournament was a sham, but not to this extent.

"See, I told you. I haven't just been seeing things," the girl said.

It had to be some sort of signal. The alternative was that she thought she had been hallucinating the white-haired boy's existence. He did look like a ghost, but that hardly warranted such blatant idiocy.

"What are you doing way out here, Bakura?" the blond asked, he sounded confused .

"Same as you guys, I guess," Bakura said, stepping into the clearing.

"You gave us a scare sneaking around in those bushes," the tall boy said - though anything they said could have meant anything if they were working together.

"Yeah, for a minute there, we thought we had something to worry about," the blond said, "Pretty silly, huh?"

Bakura gave a small smile that was almost ominous. Light would wipe that smile off of his face, he was the one they should have all feared - if only they knew.

"You should join us," Muto said, "We were just about to get a campfire going."

The blond and the tall boy went to collect firewood while the rest tried to get the kindling going. Light stood back and watched, careful not to turn his back to any of them.

After a little while, Muto led the white haired boy over to Light, "This is Yami, he saved me a few weeks ago from that escaped murderer who held up the diner, and just now he got my star chips back from one of Pegasus's Eliminators," he turned toward Light, "And this is Ryo Bakura, he's in the same class as us at school."

So that was when he had seen the puzzle at work. That Bakura was a friend from school was another likely story; their whole alibi was full of suspicious coincidences. They needed someone else to come up with their cover stories - not like Light intended to volunteer for the job.

"Nice to meet you," Light said with a smile, "What brings you to Duelist Kingdom?"

"Just the tournament, I guess," Bakura answered, "You?"

Light wasn't about to let it go, "Where's your gauntlet? It'll be hard to compete without it."

"I seem to have misplaced it," the boy blushed.

Such an obvious lie. Light was getting bored with all of this nonsense.

"That's not good!" Light exclaimed, "What are you going to do without it?"

Bakura did not have time to answer when the two boys returned with firewood.

Light was content to stand back and watch the commotion that followed, searching for anything he could use to find out a little more about their employer.

"I'll repay you for those star chips," the tall woman had walked up to him and gave him a pointed glare, her hands on her hips, " I don't know who you are, and I know the rest of those idiots may like you," - finally, someone who acknowledged it - "But I don't know what your deal is. I don't like being in your debt, but if anything happens to the others like what happened to PaniK, you won't hear the end of it."

"Huh? What are you talking about? What happened to PaniK? He must have just inhaled too much smoke, right?" Light said, a very portrait of innocence.

"Mysterious strangers in shining armor don't just come out of nowhere to rescue people in distress, whatever your dark side is, I'm on to you."

She didn't know what she was messing with.

"I'm sorry, what was your name again?" Light asked, as if they had just been conversing.

"Mai Valentine, and don't you forget it."

She said her name so seriously. A lesser individual would have made one of several unfortunate jokes.

"I won't. Mai, I know you don't trust me, but I hope we can put our differences aside and work together, for your friends' sake at the very least."

"Who said they were my friends! Are you threatening them? I just don't want to see any kids get hurt, you hear?"

A tsundere, how original.

"I want to keep them safe as much as you do, friends or not. And maybe, one day, we can be not-friends too." Light gave her one of his most disarming, hopeful smiles.

With that, he turned away and let the gesture sink in as he joined the others around the fire, staying a little ways away from the flames. The conversation had long since dissolved into inane chatter. Did they ever stop?

Light turned his mind to how he would go about defeating them. He needed to know about their employer. PaniK had worked for Pegasus, he was as unsubtle as they came. He barely believed he was thinking it, but they were too subtle to be under Pegasus's employ, unless that was exactly what Pegasus wanted him to think. Either way, he would deal with Pegasus directly when he won this tournament.

They could have been working for someone else, someone after the Millennium Eye. That would explain all the attempts to recruit him, especially if they had been in communication with Matsui…

"Yami," Yugi said, jolting him back to attention, "Why are you competing in the tournament? You never did answer when Bakura asked earlier."

"I'm just another duelist," he answered, "Why are you competing?"

They all turned to look at the loud-mouthed blond boy who was suddenly quiet.

Finally, he answered, his hand on his neck in a gesture of embarrassment, "It's my sister, see, she's going to go blind if she doesn't have an operation, but its expensive, so I'm going to win the prize money for her!"

Just as Matsui had said, the little sister story. He clearly wasn't going to provide Light any more valuable information.

"Your sister is lucky to have a brother like you," Light said.

After a suitably sympathetic pause, he turned to Valentine, "Why are you competing?"

She said, "I'm here for the money, it's as simple as that, not all of us have ill little sisters to fight for."

"What about you two?" Light turned to the girl and tall boy, both with brown hair, "If you don't mind my asking, you don't even have gauntlets, what are you doing at Duelist Kingdom?"

"We're here to cheer Yugi and Joey on," the girl answered.

"They have a big fight ahead of them if they want to win the prize money for his sister's operation." the boy continued.

Cheering on their friends wasn't worth the sort of effort it must have taken to sneak onto the island without gauntlets or star chips. The only reason to waste so much effort going to a card game tournament was if they had another objective.

"I met someone, Taro, I think his name was," Light remarked after a pause, "Who was also fighting for his younger sister."

"We met Taro Matsui on the boat!" the girl exclaimed, "He helped rescue Yugi and Joey from the ocean."

She was being frustratingly obstinate, "I wonder if there are any others fighting for their younger sisters…"

"I don't see why it matters, there can only be one winner after all. It doesn't matter how sad your sob story, everyone wants to win for themselves." Valentine said.

"It is a shame that it has to be a competition…" Muto said, "But we'll all do our best to fight for who we care about!"

"You could all work together so at least one of you who needs it wins," Light suggested, "You could even share the prize money. I would join that coalition."

"That would be awesome!" The blond boy exclaimed.

"Is that even allowed?" The tall boy asked.

"You're all so credulous," Valentine said, "Any real duelist would take advantage of your 'alliance' in a heartbeat. The only person you can trust is yourself, the sooner you figure that out, the better."

It was too easy. She had handed him her weaknesses on a silver platter, all Light had to do was take advantage of them. She was bitter and lonely and in need of a friend, there was nothing more vulnerable.

"That's not true!" The girl said.

"No one has to be alone, Mai." Light said, catching Valentine's gaze in his own.

She scoffed and turned away.

"If she wants to be alone, that's her own choice," the blond boy said, as if he wasn't bitter at all.

He was so tactless it would have been painful were it not so helpful.

"Lay off her." Light said.

"I don't need you defending me," Valentine said, "Don't think I don't see what you're doing."

"What are you talking about?" Yugi said.

"Can't we all get along for one night?" Bakura said.

Valentine shot Light a glare and he answered with a expression of concern with just a hint of hurt - enough to evoke guilt, but not enough to overwhelm. Once they were alone, then he would begin in earnest.

A contemplative silence fell and Light returned to his previous train of thought. Were they all on the same operation, or did they each have their own objectives? There had to be some way to turn them against each other. Before he knew who they were working for, there wasn't anything he could do.

"Joey, you've been staring at that card for like an hour, what's up?" the tall boy interrupted the illusion of peace.

"I'll tell you, just don't laugh," the blond answered, this should be good, "Sometimes, when I'm in a duel, I pretend that it's me out there on the field swapping blows with whatever card my opponent has out. Isn't that dumb?"

Yes, yes it was.

"Well if you were, which card would you want to be, Joey?" Bakura asked.

The conversation had descended into inanity. The boys stood up in turn and declared their favorite cards with accompanying gestures. Light had no idea he was attending a theater, at least he was being paid for sitting through it as opposed to the other way around. Valentine, Muto, and the girl presented their favorite cards in turn.

"Maybe I'm out of the loop, but don't you think it's a little silly to be comparing ourselves to playing cards?" Light found himself agreeing with the girl more than he ever expected to.

"Maybe a little, but it's like grandpa says, it's not about the playing cards, it's about putting a little bit of your heart into anything that you care about," Muto said.

Everyone nodded. Light wondered how many times he had recited that line or if it was being fed to him, though he didn't see a wire.

"Tell me which you identify with, Yami," Bakura turned to him.

Light flipped through the first deck that had come into his hand at random. This was nonsense, but there were some cards he used more than others, one could argue that he liked them at the very least, he suspected that was essentially what they were referring to.

"This one," he pulled out a card and showed it to the others, "Divine Wrath."

"How can you identify with a hole in the sky?" Valentine demanded.

"That's kinda creepy…" the blond remarked.

"Be nice!" the girl exclaimed.

Light laughed, "Don't worry, I guess it's not like all of your favorites. My sister gave the card to me, she didn't like the look of it either, but I still think of her when I see it."

"Oh…" the blond trailed off.

Valentine crossed her arms over her chest, she wasn't convinced, but if she didn't want to she wouldn't believe a word he said. If the others weren't there, he might have told her the truth so she would never believe it.

"So which card do you care about most, Bakura?" Muto asked.

"This one is my favorite," Bakura held up a card.

The others gawked at it. Light wasn't the only one to choose a card that wasn't a monster.

"If you want to see how it works," Bakura said, "We can have a duel right now, not for star chips, just for a little fun."

Light was content to leave the others to that, he could watch and learn their strategies while he waited to learn about their employer.

"Why don't you guys each put your favorite card into Yami's deck, so it'll be like we're all playing - if that's alright with you," Bakura glanced at Light expectantly.

Why would Bakura want to duel him? Unless they were after his Millennium Puzzle, for Pegasus or for their own. Whatever they were doing, they were all in on it, that was for sure. He did hate to let the opportunity to defeat all of them at once go. He could use their defeat to get information about their boss out of Matsui, or even use Bakura's defeat as leverage over the others.

"Me? If you're sure…" Light said.

"That's a good idea!" the others exclaimed their agreement.

"Be careful with my Harpie Lady!" Valentine said.

Muto said, "With this all star group of cards, we'll be tough to beat!"

"True, but maybe I'll surprise you." Bakura said, again with that small ominous smile.

They set up the duel on a nearby tree trunk. Everyone crowded around Light, while Bakura faced them from the other side.

"You don't have to huddle behind me like that," Light remarked as he shuffled his deck, "You can get a better view from the side."

A couple of them moved, but there were still people behind him, including Valentine who was watching from a few feet away.

"Now, you're sure you don't mind playing alone?" the girl asked Bakura.

"Don't you worry 'bout a thing Bakura, we'll go easy on you!" the blond boy said.

They might go easy on their ally, but Light would not, he would bring all of Matsui's partners in crimes to their knees as he had done with all the other criminals. He pulled the puzzle from his bag to put it on.

"Before we get started, there's a little something I'd like to share with you all, and especially with you, Yami." Bakura said, conveniently distracting from Light's retrieval of the puzzle.

Bakura held out his hands and the air distorted around them. The instant before it appeared, Light knew exactly what was going on. Around his neck was another Millennium Item, a golden ring with a pyramid in the center that resembled a two dimensional version of Light's own puzzle. Surrounding the ring at even intervals were hanging spikes.

Was this their employer? If so he must have been controlling them all in secret, they seemed thoroughly confused by the appearance of the ring - though appearances could be misleading.

"The magic of my Millennium Ring will take us to the Shadow Realm!" Bakura declared, "You have something I want, Yami, and I aim to take it!"

Light slipped the puzzle around his neck as the world began to shift around him. He felt himself being ripped from his body as the world faded to black.

* * *

It was as though a weight had been lifted from the Pharaoh's mind. The constraints that had been placed on his thoughts and actions were gone. Effort he hadn't even known he was exerting ceased. So much suspicion and doubt was replaced by a confident calm. His mind was safe, it was his alone.

But he wasn't safe. He was not in his own world. He felt a threatening hand reaching for the puzzle-

The Pharaoh awoke lying on the ground, staring up at a boy with wild white hair who looked strangely familiar. Around his neck was the Millennium Ring. They were surrounded by the darkness of the Shadow Realm; the Ring had called a Shadow Game. Behind the Pharaoh were the limp bodies of Yugi and all his friends. The Ring had done this and he would pay.

The Pharaoh rose to his feet.

"No! It can't be!" the white haired boy shouted.

"Who are you? What have you done? Why have you taken us to the Shadow Realm?" the Pharaoh demanded.

The white-haired boy laughed, "I am a thief and a stealer of souls, and I have done terrible things on my quest to possess the Millennium Items."

"What do you want the Millennium Items for?"

"You do remember the legends, don't you? Whosoever possesses all seven Millennium Items will possess power unimaginable and before I'm done with you the Millennium Puzzle will be mine!"

His vessel had been right, there was someone on the island to pursue the Pharaoh's own Millennium Puzzle and Pegasus's Millennium Eye - the spirit of the Millennium Ring. If what the spirit said was true, that power could not be allowed to fall into the wrong hands! And in the right hands...

"You want my Millennium Puzzle? Then you're going to have to duel me for it, and if I win, you'll release my friends and send us all back! And surrender the Millennium Ring to me!"

The thief laughed, "I agree to your ridiculous terms, Yami. But I promise you, there is more at stake here than you comprehend. This is one Shadow Game that you cannot win!"

The Pharaoh had no choice but to win, perhaps even more so than in all his previous duels. His ability to save Light's sister's soul from Pegasus may not have been at risk, but the souls of Yugi and his friends were all in danger. Perhaps even the fate of the entire world lay on his shoulders. The force of his whole mind was set upon the task.

"I will not lose to you, whoever you are!" the Pharaoh declared.

"Then let the Shadow Game begin! The first turn is yours."

As the Pharaoh shuffled his deck, a slip of paper like those from his vessel's notebook fell out:

 **How did you take control? Why did you do so?**

Even when his soul had been removed from his body, his vessel was never truly absent. The Pharaoh did not have time for even a brief correspondence. It would have to wait.

As the Pharaoh drew his first hand, he asked the spirit of the Ring, "What unimaginable power is granted to whomever possess all seven Millennium Items?"

He glanced at his hand. What new cards had his vessel put into his deck? To his surprise, they were monster cards, not trap cards that he did not recognize.

"You'll see when I possess them, if you manage to survive that long." The thief let out an overly long, unbalanced laugh.

The Pharaoh played the Cyber Commander - one of the new monster cards - in attack mode.

The card flashed with bright light as the image came to life. A young man with a gun over his shoulder materialized onto the playing field.

"Huh, what a weird dream…" the Cyber Commander said, as if in a daze, "Huh? Where am I? What's going on here?"

He may have looked like the Cyber Commander, but there was someone else in that armor, one of Yugi's friends. The Pharaoh glanced over his shoulder at the soul-less bodies collapsed behind him. He looked identical to the tall brown-haired boy.

The Cyber Commander let out a gasp of fright and confusion. He was looking up at the Pharaoh with wide, fearful eyes.

"Why did you do this to him?" The Pharaoh demanded of the thief, "It is enough that you took his soul and those of his friends as collateral, why make him participate? This was not a part of our deal!"

"Consider it a little surprise to even the field," the thief answered with a nasty grin, "As Yugi said, your 'all star group of cards will be tough to beat.' You didn't think I would give you an advantage, did you?" He laughed again.

What had his vessel done? With their souls severed from one another, he couldn't remember anything after he returned to the puzzle after fighting PaniK, he couldn't even remember the name of the boy who was fighting on his behalf.

The thief continued, "Your little friend looks pretty tough, but can he deal with this-" he removed a card from his hand and played it face up, "The White Magical Hat. Attack!"

A man in a purple suit with a white top hat materialized atop the card. The Pharaoh glanced over his shoulder at the others. It was just the spirit of the card, that was a relief at least.

"I must still be dreaming…" the boy in the body of the Cyber Commander rambled to himself as the White Magical Hat charged at him, "That's it, I must just be having a really bad dream…"

The boy vanished with a shout in a burst of red light.

"No!" the Pharaoh shouted, "Where is he, what have you done with him?"

This was not like the Shadow Games he had played against the criminals. Then, there were only two souls at stake and he always had the upper hand, but here, Yugi's friends' souls were tied to the cards, when they were defeated, they vanished.

The thief laughed. The Pharaoh was beginning to hate that laugh.

"Your friend is gone, on his way to the discard pile, or the graveyard, as we call it in Duel Monsters," the thief laughed _again_ , "When you duel in the shadow realm, the stakes are always higher, Yami. You made a sloppy move and now your friend, he paid for it with his very soul. Now, which of your friends will you sacrifice next?"

"Why are you doing this?" the Pharaoh demanded, "For what purpose do you want the power of the Millennium Items?"

He scanned his hand. He would have avoided playing the cards that contained Yugi and his friends' souls, but which were they?

"I have a score to settle," the thief answered as if he would be allowed to leave it at that.

"With whom?"

The thief laughed, "Wouldn't _you_ like to know."

Even if the Pharaoh knew which cards contained the others' souls, he couldn't afford to play with a handicap. To save any of them he had to win and so he had to play the strongest cards he had, no matter what.

He played the Flame Swordsman in attack mode.

There was a flash of light and the Swordsman emerged from the card, glancing around in confusion.

"Hey, what gives?" it was the blond boy, "Hey, Yugi-" he turned around, expecting to find his friend, "Ahh! What the? Yami, what are you doing here? You're a giant! Oh man, I finally cracked..."

"It's okay, you are not cracked. This is a Shadow Game," the Pharaoh tried to explain, "Your soul has been sealed in the card. You are the Flame Swordsman."

"I'm the who?" the boy shouted.

The Pharaoh tried again from something that resembled the beginning, "I am- We are dueling the spirit of the Millennium Ring," he gestured toward the thief.

The Swordsman turned to look at their opponent, "Ahhh! Giant Bakura! Now I know I'm nuts! I'm like six inches tall, wearing a dress, about to fight my giant friend?"

"That's not your friend, an evil spirit from the Millennium Ring has taken him over."

"Evil spirit?" the boy shook in fear, "What are you talking about, those just exist in scary stories…"

"Do not be afraid, if I win this duel, I can restore you to normal. But if you're defeated in this battle, you'll be carried off to the card graveyard just like your other friend was."

"Graveyard!? Who was carried off to the graveyard? Did you kill Yugi? Or Tristan? Or Tea? I'll-" the boy raised his miniature fists as if he was going to punch the Pharaoh.

The Pharaoh tried to interrupt, "The Cyber Commander. Your tall friend with the pointed hair-"

"Tristan? What happened to Tristan?" the boy demanded, his voice treading dangerously close to hysterics, "This can't be real!"

"He was defeated by the White Magical Hat and sent to the card graveyard."

"Why should I believe you? How do I know you're not the one being controlled by an 'evil spirit'?"

"You have to trust me. I am the spirit of the Millennium Puzzle. Unlike the spirit of the Millennium Ring I want to save you and your friends as much as you do. The only way I can return your souls to your bodies is if we win this duel. You have to work with me."

"We're both nuts, that's the only explanation! And now Tristan is gone because of you!"

"I am sorry for the loss of your friend-"

"You're crazy, maybe you just made up that Tristan is gone… Just hallucinated it…" the boy rambled more to himself than anyone else.

"Calm down." the Pharaoh ordered. He would have used the boy's name to snap him out of it, but he did not know it.

"Why should I calm down?" he had managed to get the boy's attention back at least.

"Boring me to death will not ensure you victory by default," the thief interjected, "I have a duel to win, should I interpret your inaction as passing the turn?"

"We have to attack now, we cannot afford to waste a single turn," the Pharaoh said to the boy, "Please, for your friends."

The boy nodded soberly and turned to face the White Magical Hat. He let out a wild scream and charged, flaming sword raised.

The Pharaoh glanced behind him one more time, just to be sure the White Magical Hat wasn't one of the people he was trying to save, just to make sure he hadn't made another mistake like the one that had killed Tristan.

The Hat vanished in a burst of red light and the Swordsman reappeared on his card, panting.

"What now?" The boy demanded between breaths, "How do we save the others?"

"Now it's his turn. We just have to win."

The thief growled in frustration, "Your little Swordsman got lucky last turn, Yami, but you don't have a ghost of a chance of defeating me!" He placed one card face down, "Why don't you tell your little friend what the real stakes of this duel are."

"The souls of all his friends are stakes enough!"

"I won't let you hurt my friends no matter what!" Yugi's friend lifted his sword over his head to threaten the spirit of the Ring and the card in front of him.

The thief laughed.

"Hang on, it could be a trap!" the Pharaoh said.

"First you tell me to attack, now you tell me to stop! I'm going in!" the boy insisted.

"Wait!"

He charged. The thief grinned as his face-down flipped over to reveal a Morphing Jar. The black creature in the jar burst out at the boy, his sword sliced it cleanly in half, but the damage was done.

The Pharaoh recognized all the other cards in his hand from one of the decks his vessel had prepared. Hopefully, that meant none of them contained any of the others' souls. He discarded his hand as the thief had already done and drew another five cards.

"Be more careful." The Pharaoh said, "Any false step could mean the destruction of one of your friends' souls."

"What are you dueling this creep for - whoever he is?" The boy retorted, "What's so important that you risked sacrificing all of us for it?"

"It was not I who involved you and your friends in this. It was the evil spirit of the Millennium Ring, who is possessing your friend Bakura, who sealed your souls into cards. I had no choice but to duel him for your safe return. I do not know his true ends, only that he seeks my Millennium Puzzle."

"What's so special about that puzzle anyway?"

"Untold-"

"Why don't just give it to him then and let us all go free?"

"Yes, give me your puzzle, Yami," the thief said with a grin.

"I will not surrender untold power to one who will no doubt use it for ill. You tell him what power it has that you forced him and his friends to fight for."

He merely laughed.

The Pharaoh turned back to the boy, "It is too late, your souls are already sealed in the cards. Only if I win can they be returned to their rightful bodies."

"We may be able to come to an arrangement…" the thief said.

"What of the one who is already in the graveyard? Will you return him as well?"

"There are some things that even I cannot do. My generous offer will not last forever…" the thief put two cards face down.

"Forget him, Yami!" the boy declared, "We'll take him down the hard way!"

"I wonder how long that brave face of yours will last when I destroy the rest of your friends. I may even leave you for last and let you watch…"

"Enough!" the Pharaoh exclaimed.

The Dark Magician should have been safe, he recognized it as one of his own cards - a particular favorite of his in fact - though he remembered it being in a different deck. He played it face up and the monster in the card materialized in a flash of light. The Dark Magician was shorter than he remembered, and significantly more confused.

"Where am I?" It was Yugi.

The Pharaoh was once again struck by how familiar the small boy looked, as if he was regarding a younger version of himself or his younger brother. Yugi looked nothing like his vessel, but the Pharaoh had never thought of himself as looking like Light.

Yugi glanced around himself, at the staff in his hand, and back at his surroundings in confusion. All in all, he seemed to be taking it in stride much better than his friend had, at the very least. That much was a relief, even though he was now in the line of fire.

"Joey, Bakura, what's going on here? Why are you dressed like the Flame Swordsman?" Yugi asked.

"I know, it's pretty crazy, I can hardly believe it myself!" his friend - Joey - answered, "But that's not Bakura, according to Yami - or whatever he thinks he is, he's not all there himself - Bakura is being controlled by that strange ring around his neck."

Yugi glanced back at the Pharaoh, following Joey's gesture. His eyes widened and he stumbled back a few steps in mute surprise.

"Do not be frightened," the Pharaoh said, "I am the spirit of the Millennium Puzzle. It is I who dueled PaniK on your behalf."

Yugi nodded.

As Yugi absorbed everything, the Pharaoh took another card from his hand - he might as well explain everything to everyone at once.

"I also play Monster Reborn," he said, placing the card down on the field.

The Cyber Commander - Tristan - returned in a flash of white light.

"Huh? What the…?" Tristan glanced around as Yugi had, "Joey? Yugi? You guys dreaming this too?"

The thief laughed, "This is no dream!"

They all turned to face the thief, some more startled than others.

Joey shook his head, "It's just me going insane, it's all one big delusion!"

They were just normal children, they had been pulled into something so much larger than themselves and so much more dangerous. The Pharaoh wished it would be as simple as giving the Puzzle to the spirit of the Ring, but maybe there was another way he could use the Puzzle...

"This is a Shadow Game," the Pharaoh explained again, "Your friend, Bakura, has been taken over by the evil spirit inside of his Millennium Ring. He trapped your souls into these cards - I do not know why these cards in particular, nor how many others of your friends he placed into my deck."

"These are our favorite cards," Yugi interrupted, "Don't you remember, Yami? Just before Bakura - or whoever he is - challenged us to a duel, we were talking about our favorite cards. We put them all into your deck, so we could all duel together."

"That was not me," the Pharaoh said, "It was my vessel. Because our souls were severed, I have none of his memories from after I was last in control."

They looked up at him in confusion.

"Who else is in my deck? What are their favorite cards?" the Pharaoh continued.

"Mai chose her Harpie Lady," Tristan said, "And Tea chose the Magician of Faith."

"What of my vessel?"

"Your what?" Joey asked.

"Me, what did I chose?" the Pharaoh clarified.

"You don't know your own favorite card?" Tristan said.

"You chose Divine Wrath," Yugi said at last, "Remember, you said it came from your younger sister..."

The Pharaoh nodded. Sayu, his vessel's younger sister, he had last seen her calling for help from behind the tv screen and he had been helpless to save her. That was why they were on this island, to defeat Pegasus, save Sayu, and make him pay for what he had done. They would make sure he could never do that again, that no one could. Only in their hands could the Millennium Eye truly be safe. His vessel must have been worried sick, with how much pressure had suddenly vanished in his absence.

"This is very touching and all," the thief interrupted, "But we are dueling, unless you've reconsidered my offer, that is…"

"Oh, shut your yap!" Joey shouted, raising his sword to attack.

"Wait," Yugi said, "I was just played, so I have to attack."

There were two face-down cards in front of the thief, at least one of them had to be a trap, but before the Pharaoh could stop him, Yugi held out his hand and blasted them away with dark magic. One of the cards flipped over and out burst another Morphing Jar.

"No!" Yugi shouted as he realized what he had done.

"If that's your answer, then so be it," the thief said with an unsettling smile.

"Not another one!" Joey said.

"It's alright," the Pharaoh spoke before Yugi could get another word out, "None of your friends were in this hand."

The Pharaoh and the thief each discarded their hands and drew five more cards a piece.

Harpie Lady and Magician of Faith, both in the same hand. If they attacked another Morphing Jar, his only hope would be Monster Reborn. He had to play them, but then that put them in the line of fire on the field. But if his strategy was going to work, they had to all be on the field.

"Draw one of your friends' favorite cards, Yami? Do you think their soul is trapped inside? Play it, let's find out. But maybe not, after all, you don't know what I have on the field, you could be putting your friends in danger…" the thief placed another card face down.

No, the Pharaoh couldn't afford to play at a disadvantage against the thief if he intended to win, and he had to win.

"In the meantime," the thief flipped over a trap card.

A ghostly hand emerged from the card and grabbed the Pharaoh's head, smothering his face. A painful jolt ran down from his skull. He curled in on himself, trying to evade the pain, or at the very least ground himself well enough that it wouldn't be so bad- Another jolt, he cringed even deeper into himself- then another.

He shook with the pain that reverberated throughout his body. This was what it felt like to lose a bit of his life.

"Five hundred points for every monster you have on the field…" the thief was saying.

"Is he okay?" Joey asked.

"Are you alright?" Yugi said, his voice heavy with concern.

The Pharaoh nodded, "For now. We won't be able to survive another attack like that one."

He had no choice but to play the card best suited to the occasion. And so he placed Harpie Lady on the field.

There was a flash of light and Mai materialized with wings hanging from her arms.

"What's going on here?" she demanded as all the others had, "For the last time, I don't do cosplay, no matter how much you beg."

She took a moment to realize where she was, or at the very least that she wasn't anywhere she recognized.

"Yes, 'what's going on', 'where the hell am I', 'who are you', shall we return to the card game?" the thief interrupted.

"Excuse me!" Mai said, "When did you get an attitude?"

"Do you want to make him even madder?" Joey said.

"That is not your friend Bakura, but the evil spirit in the Millennium Ring," the Pharaoh explained.

"Yeah, yeah," Mai interrupted, "Crazy dream, I get it, I must have dozed off in the middle of Bakura and Yami's duel. So what's going on here?"

"He sealed our souls into our favorite cards," Yugi said, "The only way we can return to our bodies is to win."

"And how are we doing?" she glanced up at the Pharaoh, "Who thought it was a good idea to give him our favorite cards, again?"

"He has saved my life…"

"The spirit of the Millennium Ring is using you to win my Millennium Puzzle," the Pharaoh attempted to continue his explanation.

"How many Life Points do we have?" she interrupted, "Same for your crazy white-haired friend."

"I have 500 and he has 1200."

"That's even worse than I expected. Remind me to duel you when this is all over, I could use the easy star chips."

To the Pharaoh's surprise, Yugi stepped in to defend him, "Hey, this hasn't been an easy duel."

"Can none of you remain silent for more than a matter of seconds?" the thief interrupted, "Do you end your turn or will you attack?"

The Pharaoh placed one card face down, "Now I end my turn."

A flash of bright white light escaped from under the face-down card and was replaced by a steady red glow around the edges.

"A trap card, you actually do know how to play them," the thief taunted, "I was beginning to wonder."

"Stop prattling and play!" Mai exclaimed.

"Exactly! If you would only follow your own advice," he placed a card face up and his monster emerged in a flash of light, "You might even have had a chance. Now, which of you will sacrifice yourself to my Man-Eater Bug's special ability?"

"Sacrifice?" Tristan said, "You mean go back to that graveyard?"

"Don't you worry, Tristan, none of you have to go to the graveyard," Joey leveled his sword at the beast, "I'll attack him before he even has a chance."

"Don't be an idiot," Mai pushed in front of him.

"Yami, what about your face-down card?" Yugi asked.

The Pharaoh nodded. According to the others, it was his vessel's favorite card, but he had no other choice. He flipped over Divine Wrath and a hole of reddish white light appeared in the sky above the field.

"Where am I?" Light's voice emanated from the void, "What's going on?"

He sounded confused, but from their written conversations, at least, Light knew more than the rest about what was going on.

All of the others glanced between the Pharaoh and the trap at their own pace.

"How are you in that trap if you're down here dueling with us?" Joey said.

"That is my vessel," the Pharaoh explained, "Like you, his soul was trapped in his favorite card."

"Who's out there?" Light said, "What's going on?"

"We're dueling the spirit of the Millennium Ring who sealed your souls into your favorite cards," the Pharaoh said as he discarded a card from his hand, "I need you to destroy the Man-Eater Bug and negate its effect."

"You're saying that there's someone in there - that Yami's in that hole?" Mai said incredulously.

"It sure sounds like Yami's voice is coming from there," Tristan said, "It is his favorite card, it's not much stranger than me being the Cyber Commander or Joey being the Flame Swordsman."

"Hey Yami! Are you up there?" Joey shouted into the void of Divine Wrath that was Light.

"What happens to the other Yami when…?" Yugi trailed off.

"He goes to the discard pile," the Pharaoh answered the unspoken question.

The thief laughed, "Are you sure you're willing to risk the soul of your precious vessel?"

"I'll bring him back next turn," he turned to Light, "Destroy the Man-Eater Bug, we must end this duel quickly, everyone's souls are at stake."

The void in the sky cackled with small jolts of electricity. Suddenly a single, long bolt of lightning struck the Man-Eater Bug, it was consumed by red electricity. The void slowly vanished, along with its lightning, leaving only the cloudy dome of the Shadow Realm in its place.

The thief laughed, "Well done. I am truly impressed, I've been trying to get rid of my vessel for years and you managed it all in one fell swoop without losing face. Maybe I was too hasty to fight you, we would make better allies than enemies."

"I would never ally myself with you!" the Pharaoh said.

"You're going to bring him back, aren't you?" Joey said.

"I wouldn't worry about him, you'll be joining him soon enough," the thief said.

"Of course I'll bring him back," the Pharaoh said, "My vessel and I may not be friends, but I would not end his life! And I will not let the rest of you perish either!"

He flip-summoned the Magician of Faith, "I return Divine Wrath to my hand."

Tea glanced around at the others in confusion before finally settling on a cheery exclamation, "Hey! What's up?"

"I'd tell you if I knew," Tristan said.

"We're dueling," was Mai's answer.

"Guys, it's a little early for Halloween, don't you think?" Tea glanced down at her own costume and exclaimed, "What the? What's this?"

"You're a Duel Monster, hon. Don't think too hard about it, at least you're not a void in the sky," Mai said.

"Yami and Bakura are big dueling giants fighting for our souls," Joey explained.

"Souls? What are you talking about?" Tea asked.

"If Yami's dueling Bakura, then who was in the lightning?" Tristan said.

"What lightning?" Tea said.

While the others tried to explain things to Tea among themselves, the Pharaoh played Divine Wrath face down again.

"So you're saying that's Yami too?" Mai demanded.

"Who's up there?" Light's voice emanated from the face-down card, drawing the attention of the others.

"Yami, are you in there?" Joey shouted at the card as though Light was far away.

"Someone help me!" Light shouted back.

"It is alright," the Pharaoh said, "Your soul will be returned to your body soon - it has just been placed in your favorite card. You are Divine Wrath."

"Are you okay?" Yugi called to the face-down card that housed Light's soul.

"I think so, I can't see anything... Who's out there?" Light said.

"It's me, Joey! Me and Yugi, and Tristan, and Tea, and Mai are all up here," Yugi said.

"If you're Yami, then who's the other guy?" Mai interrupted.

"I-I don't know…" Light said.

"Who are you?" Tea said, looking up at the Pharaoh.

"I am the Spirit of the Millennium Puzzle," he answered.

"The puzzle? You, you have been taking over my body! You're the one who…" Light said as if he was realizing the pharaoh existed for the first time.

But they had been exchanging notes for over a month, what was Light doing?

"What do you mean taking over your body? He's the one who what?" Mai demanded, "You expect us to believe-"

"Oh give it a break!" Joey snapped, "Can't you see he's a little overwhelmed?"

"No, it's okay," Light said, "Ever since I solved the puzzle there have been gaps in my memory, things appearing where I didn't put them, it was like someone else was controlling my body..."

"As informative as this has been," the thief interrupted, "I don't care if you waste your own time and turns on these foolish mortals, but I have a Millennium Item to claim that I will certainly make better use of than you have."

He did not know the purpose of his vessel's game, but there were more important matters at hand than his vessel's feigned confusion.

"Make your move then," the Pharaoh answered.

"Oh, I will move," the thief jeered, "This is the turn that will win me the match and your Millennium Puzzle."

"You will never defeat us!" Tea said.

The thief laughed and played Lady of Faith in attack mode.

"Now, I will turn your friends against each other!" the thief played Change of Heart.

"That's Bakura's favorite card!" Yugi exclaimed and glanced up at the Pharaoh, "Do you think he's in there?"

"It doesn't matter! With it, the very friends you fought so hard to defend you will now destroy!"

"I won't!" Yugi shouted with admirable confidence

"You won't have a choice in the matter. I can chose to control any opposing monster, and I chose you, Yugi!"

There was a flash of light and a small white haired boy appeared. He was split down the middle, with one white bird wing and one black bat wing.

"Yugi!" the boy's friends shouted.

"You should have left them out of this from the beginning!" the Pharaoh said, "Bakura, are you in there?"

"Bakura, your soul was sealed into your favorite card too!" Yugi exclaimed.

At the sound of his friend's voice, the real Bakura smiled, "I want to help, but we must act quickly, Yugi." he swooped into the Lady of Faith and took over the monster's body, "I'll control her while you attack me, you can win against the evil Bakura!"

"I can't, I'd be destroying you!"

"I don't care, it's better than being enslaved by an evil spirit! Do it!"

"Be quiet!" the thief shouted.

It was time for the Pharaoh to play his part, to save them all. If one Millennium Item could remove souls, perhaps another could return them. He didn't know for sure, but he had to try. A burst of light exploded from his Millennium Puzzle. He could feel its power ripping Bakura's soul from the Change of Heart and the thief's from the boy's body. They passed in mid air and then fell back into where the other had been before.

The others cheered.

"Attack! Send him to the graveyard now!" the Pharaoh ordered.

Yugi complied, attacking the thief with the full force of the Dark Magician. A column of light descended from the heavens and pulled the screaming thief into the graveyard where he belonged.

The shadow realm faded around them and with it the Pharaoh's control as Light Yagami returned to his own body...

* * *

"I'm sorry about all of that! Are you alright?" Bakura exclaimed.

They were still seated across from each other as their counterparts had been during the duel. This was the real Bakura, or was at least pretending to be. How gone the spirit of the Millennium Ring truly was, Light did not know.

The others were collapsed on the ground around them. The spirit of the Ring had apparently forced all of their spirits into their chosen cards, but that did not mean that he was not allied with some if not all of them. The spirit of the Ring and his vessel could have easily planned this from the beginning, so that if they had failed, the spirit of the Ring could be blamed and Bakura could remain in the good graces of the others. Light would not have been surprised if Bakura was in actuality the mind behind the operation. The spirit of the Ring - like the spirit of the Puzzle - did not seem competent enough for the task.

Light laughed it off, "I don't know what happened, but I'm glad everyone else is okay. They are okay, right?"

Bakura nodded, "They should be."

"What about that Ring of yours? It was what caused all of this, right? We should do something to make sure this doesn't happen again. The spirit of my Millennium Item seems to know what he's doing, maybe he could take care of it for you somehow."

Bakura hesitated.

"We can work together to sort all of this out," Light said, "I'd like to join up with you, if you all will have me."

"Are you guys okay?" Muto interrupted, "I just had the strangest dream…"

Muto was certainly working for the Ring, that timing was too good to be a coincidence.

"You've been under a lot of pressure with the tournament," Bakura said, "No wonder you're having nightmares."

"I guess you're right, but it felt so real…" Muto suddenly noticed the ostentatious golden artifact that Bakura was clearly holding, having made no attempt to conceal it, "What's that? You had it in the dream! Yami said it was evil and controlling you somehow. Yami's puzzle was there too..."

Their act had gone on long enough, it had long since become tiresome. If Muto knew anything about the Millennium Items, he also knew that Light was at least somewhat aware of them thanks to their collective "dream." If, on the other hand, he had been left entirely in the dark as to the true purpose of his being on this island, the duel between the spirit of the Ring and the spirit of the Puzzle had at least partially put an end to that. No matter what, if Light intended to get any more information out of him, Light needed to open up the topic of the Millennium Items and here was his opportunity.

"I don't think it wasn't a dream," Light said.

"What do you mean?" Muto said, glancing between Light and Bakura, "That's not possible…"

And the charade continued. This was the disadvantage to pretending to be entirely in the dark, but that was fine with Light, soon he would force them into a corner so that their only choice was to acknowledge the truth of their situation. And if they were truly unwitting pawns, then Light would use them to get information out of Bakura.

"There was a duel between an evil Bakura and the other me, you remember it, right?" Light said, "I remember it too, evil Bakura put all of our souls into our favorite cards - you were the Dark Magician."

Muto nodded, "And you were Divine Wrath," he turned to Bakura, "And you were Change of Heart. If it was real, you saved all of us back there…"

"It was Yami who saved us," Bakura said with a smile, "Had it not been for the spirit of his Millennium Puzzle, it would be me in the Shadow Realm instead of the spirit of my Millennium Ring."

"I can't believe this…" Muto said, "Your Millennium Items, they have real magic?"

Light turned to Bakura, "You seem to know a lot more about it than I do."

Bakura stared between Light and Muto like a deer in the headlights as Muto looked up at the white-haired boy expectantly. Perfect.

He just needed one more push in the right direction, which Light generously provided, "All I know is what I said during the duel; ever since I solved the puzzle there have been gaps in my memory, things appearing where I didn't put them. Now I know there's another person in there, but I don't know anything about him."

Another pause and Bakura spoke at last, "I-I don't know anything about the Millennium Puzzle, or any of the other Millennium Items that the spirit of the Ring mentioned, I just know that he wants them- their power really, I don't even know what that power actually is…"

"That power..." Muto said, "We saw some of that in the duel between you and Yami, right?"

Bakura nodded, "I don't know what the Puzzle can do, but the Ring - I don't know if it's the Ring itself or the spirit, or some combination of the two - but it can take peoples' souls, like it did to you guys, and call Shadow Games. That's how it usually takes souls, whenever it beats someone in a duel, it takes their soul…"

His voice fell to a hoarse whisper, "After I got the Ring, people around me started falling into comas, I started blacking out, and one day, I woke up and there was someone sitting across from me, we had just finished a game, and it was like he was dead. He was barely breathing. I got him to a hospital and he still hasn't woken up - they say he may never wake up again."

They all fell silent.

This was even better than Light had hoped. The spirit of the Puzzle would suffice as a last resort, but this boy would be a perfect culprit to take the blame for all of Light's victims until he was ready to take his place as the god of a new world. Of course, ideally, news of the Millennium Items wouldn't get out at all, but not all of their owners were as competent as Light.

Light could leave the Ring in Bakura's possession until he was ready to claim it for himself. On its own, the Ring's powers seemed no greater than that of the Millennium Puzzle and its spirit seemed even more obtrusive than the self-declared pharaoh. And in the meantime, he could manipulate the Ring's owner, it was almost too easy. It could all be a lie, but if Bakura himself was the mastermind Light would find out and still be able to use him for his own ends.

"I'm sorry!" Bakura shattered the silence, "If Yami hadn't saved us, all of you would have suffered the same fate! It's all my fault!"

"You didn't do it, it was the 'spirit of the Ring,' right?" Muto said, an arm around Bakura's shoulders, "You said it takes over you somehow?"

He nodded, "First I just blacked out, but now even when I'm awake I can hear him in my head. I would have told all of you what was going on the moment I arrived, but he wouldn't let me and I didn't think you would believe me. I wasn't strong enough to break through!"

"Do you- Do you still hear him in your head now?" Muto asked.

Bakura shook his head, "No, for the first time in years, and Yami, I have you to thank for it." He turned to Light, a look for pure gratitude on his face.

Light smiled, "I'm glad you're back in control, but it wasn't me who did it, it was the spirit of my Millennium Puzzle…" his face fell as he mentioned it - the gesture may have been too subtle for the idiots he was talking to, but this was only the beginning of a long process that he had no reason to rush.

Yugi was about to ask another question when they heard a thumping noise, it started quiet, but quickly grew in volume until they could barely hear themselves think. The three of them were soon joined by Wheeler, Gardner and Taylor. Valentine followed a little ways behind.

"What's going on?" one of Muto's friends could barely be heard over the noise.

They craned their necks up at the sky just in time for their eyes to be immolated with a bright light staring down at them. Light shielded his eyes to see a helicopter bearing down on them fast. He maneuvered to the edge of the gathering, not far from Valentine. The wind from the propellers shook the air around them as it landed in a clearing on the edge of their campsite. His head pounded with the noise still echoing in his ears as the helicopter's blades slowed to a stop and a young man in a ridiculous purple long coat stepped out.

"It's Kaiba!" Gardner exclaimed, as if she were shouting over the noise that had since ceased.

This was the famed Seto Kaiba. Light would not have denied that he felt a little disappointed, a little cheated perhaps. He had hoped that the illustrious Seto Kaiba would have been closer to his level, but he had known it was a foolish hope. Someone who was foolish enough to let such rumors develop around them was a lost cause. Kaiba was the Duel Monsters Champion. On the island of the card game obsessed, he was the most card game obsessed of them all, nothing more. His lack of subtlety merely confirmed that fact.

"What's he doing here?" Wheeler asked, his voice showing little more than his usual lack of volume control.

"I don't know, but it looks like he means business," Taylor said.

Muto approached Kaiba.

"Don't tell me you're Seto Kaiba's twin brother," Valentine said, glancing between Light and Kaiba.

"You do look strikingly similar," Bakura said.

"What did you say your last name was?" Taylor asked.

Light laughed it all off, "No, I'm not related to the famed Seto Kaiba. Yugi seems to know him, though."

"I haven't seen you since our duel, Yugi." Kaiba said when Muto reached him.

Kaiba was a terrible actor, his voice was flat.

Muto nodded, "Thank you for helping me out-"

"I don't need your thanks. I didn't need a welcoming party either," Kaiba sneered.

For what he lacked in subtlety, Kaiba at least partially made up for in sentiment. Of course, he seemed to have no sense of strategy whatsoever, but Light agreed with him.

Muto's face fell, "When you helped me win against your deck I thought you had changed-"

"Spare me your nonsense. This isn't just a game for me, Yugi, I'm going after Pegasus to save my brother. Have fun with your silly tournament." Kaiba turned to leave.

There was the weak spot, the younger brother, though Light wondered if said younger brother existed at all. Either Pegasus made a habit of going after the competitions' younger siblings, or they were all part of one big alliance, likely controlled by the spirit of the Millennium Ring whose plan, it appeared, was still going strong. Kaiba would be the first to infiltrate Pegasus's castle and then the others would follow.

Muto shouted after him, holding up a stack of cards, "You'll need these if you plan on defeating Pegasus!"

So this was a drop.

Kaiba stopped and looked back at Muto. When he saw the cards, he turned around and walked back over to take them. Light concluded that a dance this ridiculous had to be choreographed.

"I've been keeping them for you, to pay you back- to thank you for that duel you helped me win," Muto explained, though he didn't sound particularly gracious.

"You'll be compensated for all of your trouble." Kaiba said as he took the cards and turned to leave again.

"That snobby little…" Wheeler said and ran after Kaiba.

What was the idiot trying to accomplish? Light supposed if he possessed any subtlety whatsoever, he could have said something to Kaiba out of the earshot of the others, or handed him something the rest could not see.

"Hey! Listen tough guy!" Wheeler intercepted Kaiba and grabbed him by the collar, "I can understand you wanting to get your little brother back and all, but don't go thinking that you're the only one here with a noble cause, kapishe? We all got something worth fighting for! Yugi went through a lot of trouble to help you and this is what you give him in return! That's right hot shot, I ain't scared of you!"

The tough guy act was becoming ludicrous. Whether he was trying to conceal insecurity or an alliance, who did think he was trying to fool, infants who would be distracted by anything loud and flashy?

Kaiba tossed Wheeler aside and he landed on the ground with a thud to a chorus of outrage from Light's companions.

"Is he alright?" Light called out for his part.

Muto rushed to Wheeler's side.

"Check his pulse, Yugi!" Bakura called out.

Was Bakura serious? He couldn't have been. This little performance was becoming more and more absurd by the moment. It was time for him to intervene.

Light stepped forward, "Kaiba, what do you want from us?"

Now Light would see how they responded to a wrench in their plans.

Kaiba turned his emotionless glare onto Light, "Who do you think you are?"

"Someone you owe an explanation for attacking his friends," Light answered.

"Do you really think I'm going to let you delay me from finding Pegasus?"

"Forget Pegasus!" Wheeler exclaimed, back on his feet, "Now you've got me and Yami to deal with, so bust out your cards and lets get it on!"

So this was how they did damage control - not how Light would have done it, but he was beyond unsurprised. Still, one would think a magical artifact - or at the very least someone with one - would be able to procure better pawns.

Light was about to protest, but Kaiba beat him to it.

"I don't have time for this nonsense," Kaiba turned to leave once more.

"Go ahead and run, everybody knows you're nothing but a washed up has-been!" Wheeler shouted after him, setting the stage for yet another duel with his taunts, "What do you say, care to prove me wrong?"

Kaiba accepted the obvious ploy and the duel began.


	5. Screw the Rules

The next day, Light Yagami awoke to the sound of Joey Wheeler shouting at the top of his lungs. He was then treated to a morning of whining about why no one would duel him. And now they were all hungry.

Light put on his best smile, "Why didn't you say so sooner? I thought we might be camping out so I brought some food with me, it's not much, but at least it's something."

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Wheeler exclaimed, "Yami, you're the best!"

He deserved higher praise than that for all he had done and put up with - not to mention all he intended to do - but it would have to suffice for the time being.

"We're saved!" Taylor said, "Thank you, Yami!"

"It's really nice of you to share your food with us," Bakura said.

"I have the food, I'm just doing my part," Light demurred.

"We'd do the same for you," Muto said, "That's what friends are for."

Light was looking for more than just a simple tit-for-tat, he needed their trust to make any headway.

"I'm glad you consider me a friend," he said with a smile, "That alone is more than enough."

With that, they all situated themselves under a tree, Light pulled off his pack and put it in the middle, the pocket containing the puzzle facing toward him. He fished out enough provisions for the remaining two days and a little extra. He hated to waste them like this, he would have to figure out something else for the remainder of his time on this island, but it would be worth it in the end. He could survive a little hunger for the use of the Millennium Ring.

"Slow down!" Gardner shouted at Wheeler and Taylor as they scarfed down everything in reach.

"Don't worry," Light said, "There's still more where that came from. Here," he handed her a retort pouch that had managed to evade the initial sweep, "I'm sorry, it's not much."

"No, it's great, thank you!" she tried to reassure him - he needed to earn their trust, not their sympathy, this called for fewer apologies.

Light took a bag of potato chips for himself and sat down between Muto and Bakura.

"Thank you for sharing your food with us!" Muto said, "You've done so much for us - both of you have…"

"You're all very welcome. Yugi, Ryo, did you both get enough? I still have a little more left in my bag if anyone's still hungry."

Everyone expressed that they were content, finally relieving Light of the position of generous host. He had more important things to attend to.

Light turned to Bakura and asked, "Ryo, do you play Duel Monsters?"

He hesitated - Light had hit a nerve - "I haven't in a long time…"

Now to make use of it-

"I'm sure you'd be great at it!" Muto interrupted, clearly bent on laying Light's plans to waste, "And one day we'll be able to duel!"

Muto wouldn't have it that easy, "Yugi!" Light chastised him and turned to Bakura, "I'm sorry, I should have realized-"

"No, it's alright," Bakura said with a smile, "Now that I'm free, I'd like to learn to play for myself."

"I could teach you!" Light and Muto said in unison.

Muto laughed, "We can teach you together!"

"With such great teachers, maybe you'll even be able to beat me one day!" Wheeler put in.

"I don't know about that…" Bakura said.

Light gave him his most disarming smile, "I'm sure you could."

Bakura met his gaze and smiled back at him. Perfect.

"With the four of us, we could even do a double duel!" Muto said.

"We can beat them," Light glanced at Bakura who nodded in agreement.

"Bring it on!" Wheeler shouted.

"Don't you have a tournament to compete in first?" Taylor said, "Something about your sister…"

"Oh yeah!" Wheeler scrambled to his feet, "Let's win us some star chips!"

"We have to clean up from lunch first," Gardner said.

They quickly cleaned everything up, so no one would have been able to tell that they were ever there, and set off into the woods.

"Come out and duel me! Or are you too afraid you'll be beat?" Wheeler shouted into the air.

"Shh, you're going to scare them all away!" Taylor said.

"There's gotta be someone on this island who isn't terrified of Yug!"

"Face it, no one wants to duel the best friend of the guy who beat Kaiba."

"I'd beat Kaiba if he wasn't too much of a coward to face me in a real duel!"

"And what was last night? Practice?"

Light fell back so he was next to Bakura, conveniently away from the nonsense, "Ryo, how are you doing?"

Bakura nearly jumped at his less than sudden appearance, "I'm fine, just a little jumpy I guess."

"I understand why. It must be difficult after the hold that the Ring had on your mind, but if there's anything you want to talk about, you're not the only one with a cursed Ancient Egyptian artifact."

"Th-thank you…" Bakura said, "I'm just getting used to being 'normal' again. To be honest, I've never had this many friends before. I can hardly believe that it's real."

"Well, we're here to stay," Muto cut in.

"Yeah, you're one of us now, Bakura!" Wheeler said.

"Whether you like it or not," Taylor said, pulling Wheeler away, "Sorry about him."

"And when you have friends, there's nothing you can't do," Gardner said.

She seemed even less genuine than Muto, which was impressive in its own right, though while he was trying to prevent Light from gaining a hold over Bakura, she seemed preoccupied with other things.

Bakura was standing in front of them, frozen, overwhelmed.

"Don't you have a sister to save?" Light remarked.

"You're telling me!" Wheeler said, "Let's find some people to beat!"

They ran off, leaving Light, Bakura and Muto at the back of the group.

"Sorry about that," Light said.

"Don't worry, I'm sure their hearts are in the right place," Bakura said.

Muto nodded, "They mean well, and they're the best friends anyone could ask for."

There was a moment of silence as they walked after Wheeler, Taylor, and Gardner.

"Say, Yami," Bakura said.

"Yes, Ryo?" Light said.

"You seem to get along much better with the spirit in your Millennium Item," he faltered, "Well, I guess I was wondering… If you could… I was wondering if you would be able to help me… I know it's a lot to ask, but I've never met anyone else with a Millennium Item and…"

 _Perfect._

Bakura trailed off and Light picked up after him, "Of course, I'll help you as much as I can. Unfortunately, I don't know that much about the Millennium Items, but the spirit of the Millennium Puzzle and I will do everything in our power to protect you from the Millennium Ring. You don't have to face it alone."

"The rest of us don't have Millennium Items, but we'll be here for you too!" Muto said.

"Thank you, both of you," Bakura said, "I feel a lot safer now."

"You're in good hands," Muto said, "It's like the spirit of the Millennium Puzzle is watching over all of us. I wonder who he is…"

"So do I…" Light said, his voice just a hint more suspicious.

Muto was about to speak when they found Taylor and Gardner standing a little ways ahead of them on the path. Bakura and Muto hurried up to meet them and Light followed.

"What's wrong?" Muto asked, "Where's Joey?"

* * *

Light Yagami was the obvious suspect, or would have been were there not two other obvious suspects. He even had a connection to the police through his father, but that didn't mean he had the skills to use it. Seto Kaiba, on the other hand, made up for his lack of a police connection with hacking abilities that would have enabled him to break into any police database. And then there was Maximillion Pegasus, largely an unknown quantity despite being as much of a public figure as Kaiba.

Of course, the three of them could have been working together, but given their personalities, that could not have been a peaceful alliance. Which would account for Sayu Yagami being put into a coma… It could not be a coincidence that her brother, Light Yagami was in this tournament under a fake name. Did he also suspect Pegasus or was he the culprit? If the latter, why had he decided to enter a tournament?

And then there was the question of Light Yagami's personality. First he was calm, presentable, too good to be true, even as he was losing. Then, something snapped. He put on a bulky golden pyramid that was in direct contrast with his purposefully unremarkable appearance and he became serious and confused, with a full range of emotion. There was something about that pyramid and L would find out what…

The detective crouched on a hotel room floor, bent over a computer displaying the most recent statistics from the Duelist Kingdom tournament, though there was still a delay. A little ways in front of him was another screen, a television, which he had repurposed to serve as his eyes and ears, provided by junior officer Touta Matsuda. At the moment, the screen was covered in trees and the speakers were mercifully quiet, hold for the sound of leaves trampled underfoot.

"L, the latest drop from Kemo has come in," Watari's voice came out of the computer.

"Good. Send it up," L said, chewing at the skin of his thumb as the documents were uploaded onto his computer.

Kaiba and Pegasus, were in open warfare.

Pegasus was working with the "Big Five" executives of Kaiba Corporation - owned by Seto Kaiba - to take over said corporation - motive unknown. To do so he had kidnapped Mokuba Kaiba, younger brother to Seto Kaiba. He intended to dispose of Seto Kaiba, who had been thought dead at the hands of Pegasus's employees, but survived. Pegasus's plans also hinged on defeating Yugi Muto in a game of Duel Monsters during a tournament that Pegasus was currently hosting - Muto had beaten Seto Kaiba in a duel and apparently he had to lose in an official match to restore the company's reputation.

In turn, Seto Kaiba had hacked into a duel in said tournament between Yugi Muto and someone pretending to be himself - his ghost, if Kemo was to be believed - and prevented the impostor from winning. According to the latest update, Kaiba had flown to Pegasus's island where the tournament was being held and broke into Pegasus's castle to rescue Mokuba Kaiba. Seto Kaiba had been caught, but Pegasus had agreed to release his brother to him if he beat Muto and then Pegasus himself in a game of Duel Monsters.

It always came back to Duel Monsters - a children's card game of which Maximillion Pegasus was the creator and Seto Kaiba the champion. There had been a sudden increase in interest in the game a few years back when the Kaiba Corporation, with support from Pegasus's company, Industrial Illusions, introduced a holographic dueling system specifically for use in Duel Monsters games. That had turned Duel Monsters into a world wide phenomenon.

But that did not explain what had caused a young man to take over his adoptive father's weapons manufacturing company, driving said adoptive father to suicide in the process, and devote it to making gaming equipment, particularly for Duel Monsters. But Seto Kaiba was still a child. He was sixteen years old and had devoted his life to playing a children's card game. If such a child suddenly acquired a company, of course they would devote it to their own childish pursuits, even such an abnormal child as Seto Kaiba with his infamously uncaring demeanor.

Duel Monsters on the other hand… Why Duel Monsters?

Maximillion Pegasus, the game's inventor, was an American, the son of a wealthy businessman, married to a woman of equal standing who served as the subject of his many paintings. She died shortly after their wedding and he left to travel the world. He returned to California with a golden left eye and founded Industrial Illusions. The company's sole purpose was the sale and distribution of Duel Monsters.

Why had this game earned such a slavish devotion?

And why did it appear, of all places, at the scene of a crime?

This was not the act of a cult or something resembling one. The card had been hidden, not displayed, it was left on accident. The victim had been found with the card up his sleeve, as if he had been attempting to cheat in a game.

Why play a children's' card game under such circumstances?

Seto Kaiba was not the only one willing to sacrifice the lives of others for the game. A few years ago, an unknown number of Industrial Illusions employees, all working on a top secret project, died mysteriously. There were rumors that the mysterious and dangerous project was the creation of a new set of very powerful cards.

But the current case was different-

"Is there anyone else left on this island," Matsuda whined, interrupting L's train of thought, "I feel like I've been walking in circles and we haven't seen anyone all morning."

The sound of leaves crunching underfoot ceased. The camera stopped on a small patch of woods.

"There's no point in going in circles if there's no one to find," Matsuda continued to say.

As little as L liked to admit it, Matsuda was right. According to Kemo's report, they were almost at the finals. Two contestants had collected ten "star chips" already and all of the remaining contestants - other than Matsuda - were close. He had hoped for more time to think in peace, but it was almost time for the next phase of his plan.

L picked up the headset from the floor beside him and held it between his thumb and index figure, with the microphone in front of his mouth, "The finals will begin this afternoon."

"Great!" Matsuda's voice echoed over the speakers, "Who are the finalists? Do you think one of them is the culprit?"

"The finalists are Mai Valentine, Keith Howard, Light Yagami, Yugi Muto, and Joey Wheeler. As you failed to collect the requisite ten star chips, you will enter Pegasus's castle with one of them-"

"Yugi and Joey trust me, I can easily join up with them and their friends to cheer them on."

According to Kemo, they hadn't reached Pegasus's Castle - where the finals were to take place - yet, and once they did, Muto would have to defeat Seto Kaiba before gaining entry. But Pegasus was confident that they would reach the finals and if Pegasus wanted them to reach the finals so badly, he would no doubt ensure it.

"You should have time to reach Pegasus's Castle to join them before they enter," L said, "If you move quickly."

The camera moved up and down indicating a nod, "I'm on it!"

With that Matsuda continued on through the woods, "So, are we just investigating Pegasus, or do you think one of those finalists is the culprit? As little as I want to admit it, the chief's son is acting pretty suspicious. They could all be suspects really…"

Matsuda's wild speculation would get him nowhere, it was time to narrow the search, "The prime suspects are Light Yagami, Maximillion Pegasus, and Seto Kaiba."

Matsuda nodded again, "I didn't get anything solid on any of them, but that makes sense."

Matsuda was clearly going to interrupt until he'd had his say, and perhaps it would be good for L to hear what he had discovered on the ground before pointing him in the right direction, "Elaborate."

"Well…" Matsuda trailed off, suddenly speechless, "I guess the chief's son, well he shouldn't really be here at all, I bet Chief Yagami is worried sick! Especially after what just happened to his daughter. Light Yagami seemed pretty nice, but there was something strange about him and that pyramid necklace of his, I honestly don't know what he's doing here. Do you think he's investigating on his own? The chief mentioned that his son wanted to become a detective like him, do you think he thinks Pegasus is the culprit too? That would explain a lot, I think…"

"What else has Chief Yagami said about his son?"

"He's really smart, best in his class, he aces every test. I've never heard the chief complain about him, but he doesn't talk about his personal life much, it just comes up every so often. He wishes his daughter was more like him, more studious and all that - I bet he wishes I was more like his son… Sometimes, he even helps the chief solve particularly difficult cases."

Matsuda was used to being undervalued by the force, likely jealous of Chief Yagami's respect for his son, but resigned to it. He was likely trying to use this case to turn around his reputation. But Touta Matsuda was not a suspect, his motives were irrelevant.

The more L learned about Light Yagami, the more strongly an image of "perfection" was enforced upon him. To what lengths would Yagami go to make that image a reality? Matsuda's description supported L's conclusions that of all the suspects, Light Yagami was the most likely to have the strong sense of justice - due to his father's profession - that would drive someone, when presented with the ability to put people into comas, to use that ability on criminals. But that did not explain the case of Sayu Yagami...

"Do you know anything of the relationship between the siblings?" L asked at last.

The camera shook, "The chief's never talked about them arguing or anything like that, if that's what you're asking about, but that's the chief's personal life, I can't exactly go around asking him questions about his kids and he doesn't just talk about them at work."

"Has Chief Yagami mentioned any unusual changes in his son's behavior in the last three months?"

There was a pause, "Now that you mention it, it's kind of personal information, but he is a suspect, and well it was about three months ago - when the comatose criminals started showing up - that the chief mentioned being worried about his son, like he was getting sick or something, but he hasn't mentioned it in a while, it must have cleared up. Do you think…?" Matsuda trailed off.

L understood the unspoken question, "It is a possibility."

"You obviously suspect him," Matsuda said before L could switch their focus to another suspect, "Any ideas on how he could put people into comas? Or why he'd put his own sister into one? I kind of get the criminals, but why her…?"

"It may have been a crime of passion," L said, though that didn't fit with what he had seen of Light Yagami's character, "Or, more likely, he is not the only person capable of putting others into comas. It may be that he is working with Maximillion Pegasus or Seto Kaiba to use their technology for his own purposes, which would explain why he is participating in the tournament. Because of the timing of the attack on Sayu Yagami, they likely used her to force him to enter."

"How do you think they're doing it? Using those holograms? That would explain the card left at the scene of the crime…"

"That is a distinct possibility, though Solomon Muto was only temporarily hospitalized, Seto Kaiba may have used a modified version of the technology being used to put criminals into comas on him."

"But why the chief's son? If Maximillion Pegasus or Seto Kaiba has that sort of technology, why would they let him use it at all? Or do you think he ended up with the technology separately?"

"It may have to do with Pegasus's plan to take over Industrial Illusions…" but Kemo had mentioned no connection of the sort and what he knew of Seto Kaiba indicated that the young man prefered to work alone.

To L's surprise, Matsuda had given him a question he couldn't answer.

As he pondered the question, he gave Matsuda another, "What information have you gathered about Seto Kaiba?"

"Well, those holograms of his put an old man in the hospital, for one," Matsuda answered, "And they say he's ruthless. In taking over Kaiba Corp, he drove his own father to suicide. He doesn't seem like he'd go after criminals, but maybe he's like Batman…"

Batman was a comic book character, a hero, with the motif of a bat. What he had to do with Seto Kaiba, L was uncertain. Was Matsuda referring to the possibility that Kaiba had a secret identity like the hero, or was it something specific to Batman? This case as a whole was built so thoroughly on popular phenomena that L had little reason to know about. Was there some connection between Batman and Duel Monsters that L had missed in his research?

"Elaborate," L said.

"Well…" Matsuda started, but trailed off and tried again, "On which?"

"Batman."

"Oh, yeah, well, you know how Bruce Wayne is pretending to just be a normal billionaire, right?"

If L understood the reference correctly, then Matsuda was in fact suggesting that Kaiba's public facade was just that and that there was a possibility that he was the one putting criminals into comas under a guise of indifference to anything but card games.

"But in that case, why Duel Monsters?" L interrupted.

That stopped Matsuda short, "I don't know, maybe he just really likes them and decided to use them to fight criminals or something. He owns a company, but he's just 16, that's something a kid would do with all that money, right?"

Matsuda had come to the same conclusion as L had, when it came down to it, Kaiba was just a child with more money than he knew what do with, spending it on things he liked.

"Yes," L answered, "And what about Pegasus?"

"He's made himself some enemies," Matsuda said, "'Bandit Keith' must hate him with the rumors he was spreading. I don't know how much of it is true, but not much is known about him at all, which is pretty strange. He doesn't exactly seem like the sort of person who would put criminals into comas, but pretty much anything we've said about Kaiba could apply to him, right? He'd have to be pretty childish at heart to put so much into a children's card game and that fits how he acts. He seems like he could be putting on an act, too, both he and Kaiba are pretty ruthless businessmen. They're strangely similar, though they don't act it..."

"They may have been working together," L remarked, "Kaiba's company invents equipment for playing Duel Monsters, when one does well, the other does."

There was a moment's pause before Matsuda said, "What about the other contestants? Are we counting them all out or what?"

Few of them had struck L as interesting in any capacity. Most of them were children playing a children's card game, little more than that. In many of the interviews, L had barely listened at all, finding his own investigation to be a better use of the time.

"What did you make of them?" L asked.

"Hm… There are so many of them… Some of them are just normal duelists, at least they seem to be, but that would be the best disguise, right? And then there are a lot of kids here - one or two, but it's more than you'd expect - they're trying to get the prize money for pretty serious things, it's kinda weird that they'd go to a card game tournament for it, but I guess they're trying to help in any way they can."

"Elaborate."

"Well, there's Joey and Yugi, the ones I met on the ship who jumped into the ocean after some cards. I know they don't seem like the brightest, but Yugi's the one who beat Kaiba, so he's got to be good. Anyway, they're in the tournament to get money to pay for an operation for Joey's younger sister, which you'd think their parents would be taking care of.

"And then there's another kid, Mako Tsunami - the name sounds like a pseudonym - who's in the tournament to get the money to buy a ship to look for his father who was lost at sea. I don't know what his mother is doing. Maybe they're just trying to help in any way they can, and I know we're not doing a child neglect case, but it's still kind of strange."

"That would be a way to garner sympathy," L said, "But do you have any indication that they would have a reason or the ability to pursue criminals."

"No," Matsuda answered, "Not really…"

"Anyone else of note?"

"Well… There are a couple of adults on the island, 'Bandit Keith' and Mai Valentine, but both of them are participating in the tournament for money - this is their job, right? Those names could just be stage names. She had that ESP thing, but it's just a gimmick, which adds to the whole performance thing. I don't think either of them is particularly suspect and if they are, we'll be able to see more of them when we get to the finals, right?"

"Yes. I hope you're getting close to the castle, it's almost time."

"I know," Matsuda answered, "I don't know exactly where it is, but it can't be too far…"

He picked up his pace and the woods passed a little faster in front of the camera.

L found a map of the island, courtesy of Kemo, "You started at the castle, yes?"

Matsuda nodded, shaking the image on the screen.

"Where did you go next?" L continued.

"What are you trying to retrace my steps for?"

"You said you don't know exactly where Pegasus's castle is."

Matsuda let out a breathy laugh, "Don't worry, I think I know where I'm going."

"Are you certain you'll be able to get there before-"

"There it is! I think I see it!"

L saw Matsuda's hand pointing past the screen onto what was soon revealed to be a blob of tan in the distance. Matsuda set off at a run and the blob of tan grew into a rectangular wall, which - when circumnavigated - gave way to stairs. The overly long staircase led up to Pegasus's Castle. Matsuda took the stairs at the same eager pace, but soon faltered and by the time he reached the halfway point, he was at a heavy stroll.

In the distance, L could hear faint talking, which became garbled shouting.

"Do you see anyone around you?" he asked eventually, once there was a chance they could be within sight.

The camera shook, "No, why do you ask," Matsuda said, his voice quiet for lack of breath.

He stopped and glanced around him in all directions- In the top right corner of his vision was something much larger than a person and far from humanoid. L remotely zoomed in on the image. Up on top of one of the towers was a dark grey mass shaped vaguely like a dragon facing a brown blob.

"Can you tell what's up there?" Matsuda asked.

"A duel."

"Between who?"

"Seto Kaiba and Yugi Muto," this was the qualifying duel that Kemo had mentioned in his latest report.

"Really? What's Kaiba doing here?" Matsuda resumed his climb up the stairs at a steady pace.

"Pegasus is holding his younger brother hostage-"

"And I thought they were working together…"

"Pegasus is using this tournament to cement a hostile takeover of Kaiba Corporation."

"What? How?"

"By beating Yugi Muto in a duel."

That left Matsuda speechless and for several more minutes, he was content to climb the stairs in silence.

Meanwhile, the distant voices grew louder until L could finally make out a boy - whose voice he recognized as belonging to Joey Wheeler - shouting, "... completely spacin' out!"

Matsuda stopped for a moment on the landing in front of the castle, "How am I supposed to get all the way up there?"

"A staircase," L said, Matsuda should have been able to figure it out on his own.

"Ha ha," Matsuda retorted.

"Don't waste time, Kaiba won't wait for you to interview him."

Matsuda did not answer as he glanced around him. Finally, he settled on a direction and soon found a staircase on the outside wall, leading up to the tower where the duel was taking place. A crowd had gathered to watch Yugi Muto and Seto Kaiba duel. Muto's friends - Joey Wheeler, Tea Gardner, and Tristan Taylor - were present, along with Light Yagami and a boy with unnatural white hair, who L did not recognize.

From behind, L could see the brown strap around Yagami's neck that held up the golden pyramid - he had taken it out, the question was why. In front of them, Kaiba was staring, devastated, at the hulking monster before him that looked like it was melting. Muto stood across from him with a determined expression, behind a hundred-some floating balls of brown fur with eyes. He drew another card with a flourish.

"You have no reason to sneak around," L said.

Matsuda nodded, "Hey everyone! What's going on here?" his voice came out muted compared to the others so that L could hear all of them regardless of proximity.

The white haired boy turned around to face Matsuda, revealing a large golden ring hanging from his neck. It had a pyramid in the center that bore a striking resemblance to Yagami's. All the rest only gave Matsuda a glance in acknowledgement before returning their focus to the game. The only exception was Yagami whose attention was fixed on the card game.

The white haired boy was not wearing a gauntlet, confirming the fact that he was not competing in the tournament - L did not recognize him from the list of competing duelists that Kemo had given him. But that only compounded the questions that the ring he was wearing around his neck had evoked. It could not be a coincidence that two people with such unusual jewelry happened to be on this island. It matched no known Duel Monsters paraphernalia.

"I don't know why Yugi accepted," the white haired boy said, drawing L's attention back to the conversation Matsuda had been having with the others, "He had all the star chips he needed to enter Pegasus's castle, but he decided to wager half of them on defeating Kaiba."

Something happened in the duel and the boy joined the others in cheering.

This boy was a friend of Muto's then, but he hadn't been with them on the ship that Matsuda had seen, so he had his own reasons for coming on to the island. Why had he brought this piece of golden jewelry with him?

"Ask him why he's here and about his necklace," L said into the headset.

"I'm Bakura by the way," the white haired boy continued before Matsuda could speak, "Who are you? Where do you know all the others from?"

"I'm Taro Matsui," Matsuda answered, "I met Yugi, Joey, Tea, and Tristan on the boat. What about you?"

"I know them from school," Bakura said.

"Are you participating in the tournament?"

Bakura laughed, "No, I'm just here to cheer them on."

"Did you stow away like Tea and Tristan? I didn't see you on the boat…"

"I came separately…" the boy's smile faded.

"Oh, what for?" Matsuda matched his serious tone.

He worked slowly, dragging the information out. It even took patience to watch.

"I-I…" the boy hesitated, "I was looking for them…"

"He's lying," L said.

It was a lie the boy was uncomfortable telling, probably a half truth with important details - even more uncomfortable than the lie - left out.

"You stowed away on a ship just to find-" Matsuda began to ask.

"What's Kaiba doing?" Bakura suddenly exclaimed, turning to the duel as a convenient distraction.

Matsuda followed his line of sight. The camera on his glasses revealed Seto Kaiba standing on the precipice, his expression a combination of desperation and smug certainty. If his opponent refused to surrender, he would jump. That was how he intended to win the match. L wasn't sure if it counted as cheating or not, but it was certainly unconventional. It was more than the fact that his brother's safety was at stake in this duel that had driven him this far, no this could only be caused by a personal sense of failure, an inability to face himself if he did not succeed. This was the sort of person who would pursue and impossible goal, like trying to get rid of crime by attacking criminals to abolish crime, and not stop until he succeeded - if only he had the sense of justice to push him in that direction.

"He's threatening suicide," L said.

Matsuda pushed the children aside until he was at the front of the group, but Yugi beat him to shouting, "What are you doing?"

"Do not interfere," L said.

Kaiba was explaining his plan, "... you'll decide this duel one way or another. Of course, if you don't surrender, I might be hurt, and you wouldn't want that, would you?"

He knew his opponent's weaknesses well and was not afraid to use them. He lacked some common form of restraint that it was rare to see people without. He would make a formidable culprit.

"Stop it, Kaiba, you know this is dangerous!" Gardner shouted.

Wheeler disagreed, "Kaiba's bluffing. Come on! Drop this cheap ploy and get down from that ledge and play fair! You know that Yugi doesn't want to hurt you!"

Kaiba laughed.

"He knows, he's counting on Yugi to surrender," Bakura said.

"You dishonor the game with your tricks!" Yagami said, "Why should he surrender to one who refuses to play fair?"

Yagami had a strict sense of right and wrong and looked like he would have been willing to push Kaiba off of the edge himself to enforce it. That was another mark against Chief Yagami's son.

"You have things to live for!" Matsuda joined the chorus, "What about your brother? How would he react if he knew you had died?"

That gave Kaiba pause, but he did not step down.

"Kaiba, please!" Muto pleaded, "I don't want to hurt you!"

"I must win this duel to rescue Mokuba. I'm willing to risk anything to do it," Kaiba said, his voice flat despite the stakes, "You know I could stand up here all day, Yugi. And I'm certain you won't make any attack for fear that you might knock me off, which means I have the advantage over you, in my case there's nothing holding me back."

Kaiba drew and played another card to bring back one of the heads of his melting dragon. The new head was a shiny, metallic white and appeared not to be melting like the body it was attached to. What it came down to was that Muto had a choice, he could either attack Kaiba now, possibly killing him, or let Kaiba attack next turn, winning him the duel. It was a simple test of character, not just of Muto, but of all his friends watching from the sidelines.

Muto stared at his opponent with wide eyes as he came to understand the situation he had been put into. He fell to his knees and surrendered. That single act let loose a flurry of motion on the sidelines.

Gardner, Wheeler, Taylor, and Bakura ran to his side with a unified shout of, "Yugi!"

L only saw a brief glimpse of them as Matsuda ran toward Kaiba and shouted, "It's over, you've won, now get down from there!"

"Don't get distracted, pay attention to the others' reactions," L insisted, but he could tell it was a lost cause. There were disadvantages to working through weak intermediaries.

"Why are you so concerned?" Kaiba sneered, deliberately taking his time to step off of the precipice - his point had been proven, but he still savored the power play.

"Yugi showed you a great kindness that you did not deserve!" Yagami pushed Matsuda aside to face Kaiba, "I challenge you to a proper duel on his behalf!"

This was the end of their alliance if there had ever been one. However, L doubted that Kaiba would have been willing to work with anyone to begin with, a side effect of the same pride that would have forced him to pursue such an impossible goal.

"I got what I wanted. If Yugi had done what needed to be done, he would be entering the castle not me, but he was too weak to follow through on his play," Kaiba said.

"He spared you!" Gardner shouted from a little ways away, Matsuda turned toward her so L could see her standing by Muto, tears streaming down her cheeks, "Kaiba, he showed you compassion! Which is more than you deserve!"

"He lost the game," Kaiba said, his voice flat.

"And now it is your turn to lose!" Yagami shouted.

Gardner took another route entirely, ranting at Kaiba about "heart" and "friendship."

"I have all that I need!" Kaiba declared, pushing Yagami away and turning to take his leave.

"How dare you!" Yagami shouted after him, "You are no duelist!"

Matsuda turned back to where Muto sat on the ground, surrounded by his friends, "Are you okay?"

"I'm sorry, Joey," Muto was saying, "I wasn't strong enough to win and help you get the money for your sister- I- I just couldn't..."

"Don't worry about it, Yug," Wheeler said, "It's Kaiba's fault for playing such a dirty trick, you were stronger than Kaiba's ever been!"

"Is everyone alright?" Yagami asked, his voice one of calm concern, in direct contrast to the wild anger of mere moments before.

It was more than just a temper that he worked hard to control, but sometimes escaped; the change was much more dramatic. Matsuda glanced back at him and L saw that he had put the pyramid away. A diagnosis of Dissociative Identity Disorder was hardly without controversy, but this only served to confirm that the pyramid served as a marker for two distinct personalities. Both had to be taken into account.

Yagami spoke again, drawing L's attention back to the conversation, "I'm just glad no one's hurt."

"You seemed pretty keen on giving Kaiba his due back there..." Matsuda remarked without prompting.

A ghost of frustration crossed Yagami's face, "That was a pretty cheap trick he pulled, but I'm glad he's alive."

"That's not what it looked like…"

"What do you mean?" Yagami's expression was the very image of innocence.

Yagami suspected they were on to him, he was leading Matsuda into a trap, L had to warn Matsuda before he dragged them both down, "Do not answer."

Matsuda shrugged in response and turned his focus back to the others.

Muto was saying to Wheeler, "At least you still have ten star chips, I'll be there cheering for you all the way!"

"You're sure you don't want them?" Wheeler asked.

"No, they're yours, I'm sure you can win for Serenity!"

"I'll be in the tournament fighting for her too," Yagami said.

"Really?" Wheeler exclaimed.

"There's nothing in the rules against splitting the prize money, is there?"

Wheeler grinned and threw his arms around Yagami and Muto's shoulders.

Yagami was not here for the prize money, as much had been clear from the beginning and this confirmed it. But that he was splitting it implied that he had a use for it, as much of a nuisance as it would be to conceal - assuming he intended for no one to know that he was at the tournament at all, which L strongly suspected.

The entire party descended the stairs to the front of Pegasus's castle, their spirits greatly renewed. They had stopped in front of the doors when a shout came from the overly long stairs behind them.

It was Mai Valentine, running up toward them and the castle, one arm waving above her head, the fist closed - she was carrying something she wanted to show or give to at least one of the people gathered there.

"I assumed you'd all be inside already," she said, "What? Did Joey hold you up getting his last star chips?"

"Hey!" he retorted, "For your information, it was Kaiba-"

"Kaiba? Last I heard he was cowering in fear of Yugi, what's he doing here?"

"The dirty cheat better be afraid of what I'll do to him next time I see him!"

"He challenged Yugi to a duel," Gardner explained, "And then when Yugi started winning, he threatened to kill himself unless Yugi surrendered."

"And I thought Kaiba was nuts…" Valentine trailed off.

Muto explained, his tone not quite as sympathetic as his words, "Pegasus has his little brother, if Kaiba didn't beat me, Pegasus wouldn't let him into the castle."

"So, what took you so long?" Wheeler asked.

She turned to Yagami, "Yami, here are all the star chips I owe you, they won't do you much good now," - she glanced down at his completed gauntlet - "But the debt's repaid."

Yami? Why was he going under two different pseudonyms, or was that a nickname based off of his name, which she shouldn't have known, unless he had given it to her, but why would he? The name didn't seem to surprise him.

Yagami smiled, "Thank you. I may not need them, but Yugi," - he turned to Muto - "Here are the star chips you need to get into the finals. Now all of us can fight for Joey's sister."

There was something unnatural about Yagami's dialogue - when he wasn't wearing the pyramid - not just that statement, but all of it, it sounded scripted. Everything about him was too good to be true. To give someone else something you yourself had no use for was not abnormally generous, but there was something about the way he did it. He was carefully putting everyone in his debt.

The children cheered and Matsuda followed them, past Kemo, into the castle.

The famed Maximillion Pegasus's abode was as opulent inside as out, but the hallway they entered through was large and empty, lacking in decoration entirely. Had they lingered, it would have had an eerie, abandoned feel to it, but the children ran through and so Matsuda gave L only a passing glimpse. Still, L doubted that Pegasus had left it empty out of carelessness, he was eccentric, but his business dealings were deliberate. He was an actor. L had watched many of his public appearances as a character study of sorts and this was no doubt another performance.

They stopped short on a balcony overlooking a large, cavernous room, as sparsely decorated as what L had seen of the rest of the mansion. Across the center of the room, leading from one door to another, was a long conveyor belt that looked like it was suspended above a dark chasm. In fact, it was probably just raised a few feet over a black floor, the lighting creating the illusion of unseeable depths. On the opposite wall from where Matsuda and the rest were standing was another balcony, closer to the height of the conveyor belt. In the exact center, in front of a darkened hallway, was a green chair, no doubt intended for Maximillion Pegasus himself.

On the conveyor belt stood Seto Kaiba, briefcase in hand. It was time for the promised duel between Kaiba and Pegasus for the safety of Mokuba Kaiba. Pegasus was toying with him, that was all the explanation this duel required, but their behavior during it could give L some useful insight into both Kaiba and Pegasus.

"That is correct," a man with a gravelly voice answered some comment one of the suspects had made as he emerged from the hallway closest to Matsuda.

His rambling amounted to a barely veiled - only to the extent that it made it more ominous - explanation that Pegasus intended to use his duel with Kaiba to intimidate the finalists. L recognized the bearer of this obvious information as Croquet, Pegasus's butler and right hand man, who most of the staff regarded as useless, likely influenced by cues from their boss. But he had not come here of his own volition, Pegasus had sent him to enforce the intimidation and more importantly because he must have wanted a to have man with the finalists to listen in or enact some plan.

"Keep an eye on him," L said into the headset.

"So basically it's meant to intimidate us, huh?" Valentine said, nearly cutting L off.

"Why would Pegasus do something like that?" Croquet answered, his sarcasm plain to hear.

Pegasus was toying with his guests. It would not be unlikely for him to force someone to play a children's card game against him before putting them into a coma, even if the means he used were completely irrelevant, but L doubted he would go after criminals.

"Why don't you ask him yourself?" Wheeler retorted, "How could we understand his crazy logic."

Croquet laughed, "Enjoy the match."

And then, he turned and left. Either Pegasus was just toying with them - always an option - or Croquet had been tasked with gathering some form of simple information on the guests, perhaps an assessment of their attitudes toward their host. If he was working with Yagami or any of the others present, this may have been some sort of signal or an exchange of information.

"Watch Light Yagami," L said.

Everyone gathered on the balcony turned toward the arena just in time to see the doors set in the far left wall slide open to reveal Pegasus and two of his employees. They did not bother to hide the fact that they were bodyguards, but they were far from intimidating individuals. It was a trap, they highlighted his importance while downplaying his strength, but in doing so Pegasus revealed his lack of fear of an attack - either Pegasus or his bodyguards, or both, were well prepared, corroborating Kemo's prior assertion that anyone who attacked Pegasus was an idiot.

"Where's my brother?" Kaiba demanded.

"What, no hello, no how are you? I thought we were friends, Kaiba-boy. Don't tell me that my kidnapping Mokuba and seizing control of your company has put a rift between us," his voice suddenly dropped, "It was nothing personal," and then he continued as before, "Besides, it's not like I hurt your kid-brother, he's perfectly safe, in fact, you can have him back if you like. Just beat me in a duel like you agreed and I'll hand him over, one little victory shouldn't be a problem for the Duel Monsters world champ."

A glint of gold shone from behind the curtain of white hair that covered his left eye. This was his rumored golden eye.

That Pegasus was treating his crimes as if they were nothing was to be expected, but that he had just announced them before a crowd of people gave L pause. He clearly thought he was above the law, did that mean he considered himself to be it? No, that didn't fit, this entire duel was an act, to prove a point. Was he working with Kaiba after all and just faking a breach in their alliance? That would explain the extent to which he was going to make it public. But why throw himself under the bus? What did that gain him? He was trying to manipulate the finalists, but to what ends?

"Come now Kaiba," Pegasus continued - he had waited for Muto, Taylor, and Wheeler to finish talking among themselves to speak, the whole place was bugged - "It's so gauche to keep us in suspense, especially with an audience waiting in the wings."

Kaiba slowly turned to look up at the balcony where they were all standing, his eyes widened in surprise as he saw the crowd gathered there. Pegasus was clearly the one in control of the situation, all the rest were part of an elaborate show, but who was it for? Not Kaiba, he was just a pawn. He needed to beat Muto to take over Kaiba Corporation, but there was more than that going on here. And then there was Yagami, watching everything, his expression stuck in a small smile that did not reach his cheeks, let alone his eyes.

Kaiba met Muto's eyes, "Yugi, how could you be in here after I defeated you? I should have known you'd find a way."

Sympathy and anger warred on the boy's face.

His friend answered for him: "No thanks to you!" Wheeler shouted back.

Wheeler's contribution went ignored as Pegasus drew all eyes back to him, "I hope you're ready Kaiba, I've been looking forward to this for quite some time."

"Good," Kaiba opened his briefcase to reveal a pair of red-lined disks - his own invention - above stacks of Duel Monsters cards where another man may have put money.

He removed a disk and threw it at Pegasus, who caught it with an exaggerated grunt. He toyed around with the device and bickered with an unamused Kaiba - he was just wasting time.

"I just want someone else to operate your little device for me," he finally got to the point.

He intended to use Mokuba Kaiba against his "doting" older brother, that much was obvious. More interesting was the glimpse of Pegasus's Eye as his hair split out of the way to reveal a golden eye in its place. Its shape was identical to those on Light Yagami's pyramid and the pyramid in Ryo Bakura's ring. Was this some sort of cult that had formed around Maximillion Pegasus?

Pegasus and Seto Kaiba continued their bickering until another one of Pegasus's men emerged from the hallway behind him. He was shackled to a small boy with long black hair, in tattered clothes. The boy's eyes were dead and unblinking, even as he saw his own brother, he did not acknowledge him.

"Mokuba!" Seto Kaiba shouted, Mokuba Kaiba looked up, but otherwise did not respond.

He appeared to have been drugged.

"It's me!" Kaiba continued.

Murmurs of confusion spread around the balcony.

"Is he okay? What did Pegasus do to him?" Yagami exclaimed.

Gardner hypothesized that he had been hypnotized.

"I apologize if he doesn't seem like himself," Pegasus said as the boy and his handler stepped out onto the conveyor belt, "But I happen to find that the captives I keep are much easier to manage after I've made an extraction of sorts."

There was the confession, but for all the injuries the boy showed, none were evidence of a lobotomy. Was Pegasus just calling it an extraction to mislead his audience? That lacked the poetic irony Pegasus was clearly attempting, but perhaps his standards were not so high.

"You monster!" Kaiba shouted.

In the speakers he could hear Matsuda's breathing, it had grown fast and ragged. He was angry.

"Blowing your cover won't do anything," L said into the headset.

"I know," Matsuda hissed under his breath, "I just wish…"

"Matsui, are you okay?" Bakura asked.

Matsuda took in a deep breath and let it out, "Yeah, I just wish I could do something…"

Bakura nodded in agreement.

"Now, now, Kaiba-boy, petty insults aren't the way to get your brother's soul back!" Pegasus let out a mad laugh.

L zoomed in on the card he was holding in his hand. Sure enough, there was Mokuba Kaiba, screaming against a starry void. Pegasus was clearly trying to throw Kaiba off balance, but why use something so unbelievable? It would explain why Mokuba Kaiba showed no evidence of serious injury, but that Mokuba was drugged was a much more likely explanation. Was it a common thing in Duel Monsters, to claim supernatural abilities? Valentine had claimed to have ESP, but that had appeared to be something different.

Maybe it had to do with that golden eye of his…

L could hear everyone around Matsuda on the balcony reacting in varying degrees of confusion. Unfortunately, Matsuda was not facing Yagami, so L could not see his expression.

Pegasus waited for his audience to quiet before he continued, "I told you your little brother is perfectly safe, and he is, but how long he stays that way is up to you. Beat me in a duel and I'll release him as promised, but fail and not only will his soul remain in bondage, but yours will join it. To save your brother, you'll have to defeat me. So it's decided, we'll use your new invention, but your brother will operate it for me."

"Wait! Pegasus!" Kaiba exclaimed. Though barely emotive, his voice showed more feeling than L had seen from him thus far.

"What? This was your idea. Using your system is sure to give you quite the advantage. What's the problem?" Pegasus taunted.

"He's been through enough already. Okay then Pegasus, you win, we won't use it. We'll duel on your terms, just keep my little brother out of this."

His brother and Duel Monsters, those seemed to be the only things Seto Kaiba cared about. He not bother to conceal either fact. He put them on display, not to prove a point, but because he didn't care what anyone else thought. If he cared enough about justice to put criminals into comas, he wouldn't conceal it, he would advertise it. The discovery that he was accountable to anyone seemed to be a shock; he wouldn't conceal his actions just because of the law unless someone else was forcing him to and that seemed like it would take quite the feat, possibly even more than Pegasus was capable of.

Pegasus, on the other hand, was more than inclined to put on a show and conceal the truth.

He crouched down beside Mokuba and put a hand on each of the boy's shoulders, "So rather than duel your empty shell with a device he's perfected, he'll give me home field advantage, fine with me. Take him away."

Pegasus stood and the boy's handler led him back out the way he had come.

"You creep!" Kaiba shouted.

"Watch yourself Kaiba, you're in my world now," Pegasus snapped and the walkway receded beneath them to make room for an arena that descended from above and settled in the middle of the room.

The field lit up and the duel began at last. It was time for L to get some more information.

"Time to get to work," L said, "Ask Light Yagami and Ryo Bakura about their necklaces, I suspect they're connected to Pegasus's eye. Ask Yagami why Valentine called him 'Yami,' and his thoughts on the conditions of this game. Ask Bakura why he's here."

Matsuda turned to look at all of the others gathered on the balcony. Bakura was standing with Muto and his friends, watching the duel with rapt attention. Yagami stood off to the side, not far from Valentine. The duel only half held his attention, as he preferred to focus on the others. When he had the pyramid on he was deeply invested in Duel Monsters, but without it, it seemed he couldn't care less. Was it the same in regards to justice?

Matsuda made his way over to Yagami, "Can you believe it?" he remarked.

Yagami slowly turned his gaze onto Matsuda - he had already been watching him out of the corner of his eye - "What? What do you mean?"

"Pegasus, what he did to Mokuba. Do you think Pegasus really took his soul?"

"I don't know what to believe…" Yagami was being careful to let out as little information as possible and force Matsuda into speaking.

"I know what you mean," Matsuda said with a sigh. "I just wish we could do something - there's no question Pegasus is pretty awful, right?"

"But what could we do?"

"I-I don't know…"

"Don't you worry!" Wheeler interrupted, "Whoever wins the tournament, whether it's Yugi or me or even you, Yami, we'll be sure to beat Pegasus!"

"You dolt," Valentine said, "How will that help anyone? Anyway, since when did you want to help the Kaiba brothers?"

"There's got to be some way to defeat Pegasus and save them," Muto said. "Seto Kaiba isn't my friend, but you saw what Pegasus did to Mokuba, we have to save him!"

"We can't just save him by beating Pegasus in a duel…" Matsuda said.

"I promised Mokuba that we wouldn't let Pegasus take over Kaiba Corp., at the very least I have to fulfill that promise," Muto said.

"We need a plan," Matsuda insisted.

"You're here to investigate, not arrest Pegasus for questionable business dealings," L reminded Matsuda.

"This is serious!" Matsuda both answered L and continued what he was saying to those around him, "Pegasus isn't just trying to take over Kaiba Corp., he's kidnapped a child and done who knows what to him!"

"He sealed Mokuba's soul into that card," Bakura spoke up, his voice barely audible.

"What?" Valentine exclaimed, "That's crazy! You've got to be kidding! That's just some lie Pegasus told Kaiba to throw him off his game!"

"Yeah!" Wheeler said, "I can't believe I'm agreeing with Mai, but what she said! It must be just like her aroma strategy-"

"Hey! Don't you compare me to that creep!"

"Do you all remember that duel between Yami and I?" Bakura continued and they all fell silent, "When the evil me put all of your souls into your favorite cards?"

"That was just a dream! How do you know about that?" Valentine said.

"I had that dream too…" Gardner spoke up.

There was a chorus of agreement.

"That's crazy, we can't have all had the same dream!" Wheeler said.

"Excuse me, but what are you talking about?" Matsuda asked.

"You weren't there," Bakura said, "But that's the reason I came here. I know it's hard to believe, but the spirit of my Millennium Ring was controlling me, it wanted Pegasus's Millennium Eye and it dueled Yami for his Millennium Puzzle. It nearly killed every one of us to get it."

It was a cult, a religion of some sort. If not for the communal dream and Pegasus's involvement, he would have assumed an overactive imagination or perhaps some form of schizophrenia on Bakura's part, but Pegasus' involvement indicated that this was something much more serious. Yagami's golden pyramid and Bakura's golden ring, both of which matched Pegasus's eye, suggested that they were high ranking members of this "Millennium" cult, which explained why they were on the island.

That it was a cult explained a lot. It was little stretch that Pegasus had formed and led a cult in which the card game he had invented played a significant role. To create a communal dream, all of the participants had been drugged and possibly subjected to hypnotic suggestion. As he had suspected initially, Mokuba Kaiba was probably also drugged. This duel between Pegasus and Kaiba was a recruitment stunt, the entire tournament may very well have been intended to find people to recruit into his cult.

It seemed they were trying to recruit the finalists and specifically, Muto, Gardner, Taylor, Wheeler, and Valentine, but where did Seto Kaiba fit in? He and Pegasus had been business partners, but he appeared to be unaware of Pegasus's supposed supernatural abilities. L suspected their partnership was only based around the game of Duel Monsters. Now Kaiba had become a nuisance and was being eliminated from the picture in a way that just happened to help Pegasus convince several new recruits.

"You're all mad as Pegasus!" Keith Howard interrupted L's thoughts.

"I swear, that's what happened! The evil spirit wouldn't let me tell you before, but since Yami - at least the spirit in the puzzle - sent him away, I can tell you," Bakura insisted.

"As strange as it is, I think he's telling the truth," Yagami said.

This confirmed that Yagami was a part of the cult. His membership in Pegaus's cult explained the alternate personality that appeared when he was wearing the "Millennium puzzle." L had hesitated to conclude that Yagami was suffering from Dissociative Identity Disorder because it was widely suspected to only occur when induced by a therapist. However, the involvement of a cult simplified things; the cult had probably created Light Yagami's alternate personality, hence its appearance being tied to the golden pyramid bearing the cult's symbol.

There was a possibility that the "evil spirit" Bakura was referring to meant that he also had an alternate personality created by the cult, but since it had only been mentioned in relation to a drug-induced dream, it was uncertain for the time being.

Yagami continued speaking when all the others fell silent once more, "The real reason I'm here is because of Pegasus and his Millennium Eye. You each got a package from Pegasus inviting you to the tournament, right?"

The other contestants - including Matsuda - nodded.

"The one I received didn't just have the gauntlet, star chips, and prize cards - there was also a VHS tape," Yagami dragged out the story to emphasize his point.

"Big deal, we all got VHS tapes welcoming us to the tournament," Valentine insisted.

"Did you duel Pegasus too?" he asked, his expression one of perfect curiosity - too perfect.

"Not even Pegasus can duel someone through a video tape," Wheeler said, "That would just be crazy, right?"

Muto nodded. "How could he respond to your moves if he recorded it in advance?"

Yagami explained, "It was that eye of his, I don't know how he did it, but it was like he could read my mind! He knew every move before I made it, and then when he won, he stole my sister's soul. He said that he would only free her if I came to his tournament and beat him at his own game. That is why I am here."

Yagami even admitted that he was here on account of Pegasus. But why was Pegasus going to such careful, elaborate lengths to turn all of his new recruits against him? What would they do if they were turned against him? Their instinct was to duel him, to play against him in the game that he had created and that was significant to his "Millennium" cult. It was some sort of initiation rite, perhaps, or a means of drawing them in further. It forced them into his domain and gave him the advantage. It also served to intimidate them, putting them at even more of a disadvantage.

It was time to fill Matsuda in on his conclusions, so he spoke into the headpiece, "Bakuara and Yagami are members of a cult led by Pegasus. Their current objective is recruitment. Infiltrate and find out as much as you can."

Matsuda did not reply, and through the speakers, L heard the conversation continue.

"No way!" Wheeler exclaimed with a shudder, breaking the silence that had fallen over them all when Yagami ended his story, "Stealing souls... Could Pegasus get any creepier?"

"It's a lot to take in…" Matsuda said.

"A lot to swallow, more like," Valentine retorted, "Even if he did have magic powers or whatever, why would _Pegasus_ use them to force _you_ to enter his tournament?"

"He said he wanted my Millennium Puzzle," Yagami said.

"It is pretty hard to believe…" Taylor said.

"It is, but it can't be a coincidence that we all remember the same dream of Yami dueling Bakura, right?" Muto said, "And if that happened, then maybe it's not too much of a stretch that Pegasus could steal Yami's sister's soul…"

"Yeah, you saw what he did to Mokuba Kaiba," Matsuda put in - the infiltration had begun.

"He's drugged, that's also how they caused the 'communal dream,'" L explained into the headset.

"You're all grade A nutcases, if you ask me," Valentine said, "Just because we all had a strange dream and Pegasus _says_ he can steal souls doesn't mean magic exists."

"But what if it does…" Gardner said, shaking her head, "I don't know what to believe."

"It's all pretty crazy!" Wheeler said.

"Bakura and I saw what we saw, and you all saw it too," Yagami said, controlled frustration creeping into his voice, "If you have another explanation, I'd love to hear it, but we can't all be going crazy."

"So if all of this is real," Taylor said, "Not that I'm sure either way, what can we do about it?"

Yagami turned to face Bakura, "What I want to know is why the evil spirit that's been haunting you, Bakura, wants my Millennium Puzzle and Pegasus's Millennium Eye."

All the others' eyes turned expectantly to Bakura.

Pegasus was not the only one to take the blame, there was also Bakura's alternate personality whose existance L had not yet confirmed. There was a possibility that, if Bakura's alternate personality actually existed, it had done something it was not supposed to, implying that Yagami's question was intended to investigate the possible threat. Alternatively - and more likely as far as L was concerned - Pegasus was using Bakura's alternate personality, existent or otherwise, as a common enemy to force the new recruits to work with him when being seen as their enemy had served its purpose.

"I- I don't know..." Bakura admitted.

"You don't even know your own story?" Valentine demanded, a hand on her hip.

"If we were going to lie, don't you think we'd choose something more believable?" Yagami said.

"Yeah, Bakura wouldn't lie to us about something like this, right?" Wheeler exclaimed, though a glance over at Bakura revealed his uncertainty.

"I can only tell you what I know," Bakura said, "I wish it wasn't true."

"I believe you," Muto said with a slight smile, "And whatever's going on, we'll face it together!"

His friends cheered and Valentine scoffed.

"So, all of these Millennium-artifacts," Matsuda said, "They can remove peoples' souls?"

Bakura nodded, "The Millennium Ring and Millennium Eye can, at least, I don't know about the rest of the Millennium Items," he glanced at Yagami.

"I know even less about the Millennium Puzzle than you do," Yagami answered with a deflection.

"Any idea why Pegasus wanted it so bad he took your sister's soul?" Matsuda asked.

Yagami shook his head, "I don't even remember the duel properly, I'm sorry."

"Did you just see that?" Wheeler interrupted, he was pointing down at the duel, "Pegasus just used Kaiba's own card to nearly wipe out his entire deck!"

They all turned their attention back to the duel. It was almost over, and then they would hopefully return to conversing normally, instead of just talking about the game; then maybe L would be able to get something out of it. The end of the duel might also give L the chance to see why Pegasus was so interested in goading everyone present into dueling him.

In the meantime, however, there was the question of Light Yagami to hold L's interest. He claimed not to remember the duel with Pegasus, suggesting that his alternate personality was in control at the time. L suspected one of the reasons Pegasus and the Millennium cult used Dissociative Identity Disorder was so that the members' alternate personalities could be blamed for things that the member would otherwise be held accountable for, and here Yagami was, laying the framework to enable that to happen.

One significant question remained: was the Millennium cult, one of its members, or one of their alternate personalities, behind the comatose criminals?

L returned his attention to the game as it finally came to an end.

"Forgive me Mokuba, I am so sorry," Kaiba said, his voice utterly devoid of emotion, as Pegasus's monster destroyed what L believed was his last.

Pegasus gloated over his victory, revealing nothing of note until he pulled a blank card from his jacket, the background identical to the design behind Mokuba Kaiba in the card that allegedly held the boy's soul. "I will spare you the agony of carrying on in this world without him."

Was Pegasus going to kill Seto Kaiba?

"What is that?" Kaiba demanded.

"It is the final fate of your soul, Seto Kaiba." As Pegasus spoke, his hair flew outwards, as though blown by a wind coming from directly in front of him, revealing Pegasus's golden eye.

The eye glowed, more and more light emanated from it until the entire arena was consumed in white light. When the light faded, Kaiba's image appeared card, and across from Pegasus, Kaiba himself stood frozen, his expression blank. There was nothing special about the game they had played, as far as L had seen, it was just a show with a magic trick at the end. There had certainly been time while the field had been obscured to switch out the card and inject Kaiba with some fast acting drug.

Pegasus gloated some more about the Kaiba brothers' souls – presumably further reinforcement of his powers as cult leader and goading those present into dueling him - before finally ordering his men to, "Take away that empty shell. Teach it to wash dishes or something."

The spectators around Matsuda responded in shock. They were children, this was beyond their capabilities to handle. That was why Pegasus targeted the children who played his game - they were more malleable. Matsuda was probably reeling as well, given his responses to everything they had seen so far.

"Focus on the mission," L said into the headset.

Matsuda had just begun to say something when Yagami, the Millennium Puzzle around his neck, shouted down at Pegasus, "Pegasus, I will put an end to your games!"

He was serious, genuine. This was not an act.

"Raito-boy, or Yami as you're calling yourself," Pegasus answered with a dismissive wave of his hand, "Don't forget that you still have to make it through the remaining rounds of this tournament to even win the privilege of challenging me."

He had unmasked what L had thought was his own ally. No, Yagami was his ally without the puzzle on. It seemed Yagami's alternate personality was at odds with Pegasus, perhaps instead of Bakura's alternate personality of questionable existence. Pegasus was doing many things at once, one of them, it appeared, was disciplining Yagami's alternate personality and possibly even disposing of him to replace him with one of the other finalists.

"I'll be at the finals!" Yagami shouted, "The true privilege will be defeating you and undoing all the evil acts you've committed!"

Pegasus laughed, "I look forward to your finest efforts, Raito-boy, and wonderful performances from all our finalists. You truly are the best of the best, la creme de la creme."

L concluded that though the finalists didn't know it, this was an audition to replace Yagami's position in the Millennium cult as the holder of the Millennium Puzzle, and to be given an alternate personality. If Yagami's alternate personality, which happened to have a strong sense of justice, had gone off the rails, there was a distinct possibility that it was using some of the cults techniques to put criminals into comas.

One of Pegasus's employees led the finalists and their entourage to a large dining hall. Again, the room was sparse with no decoration hold for two large portraits on the wall above the door, placed side by side as though they were the man and woman of the house, though they clearly were not. One was a well dressed young woman with long blond hair, who looked somewhat similar to Mai other was a middle eastern man in a turban with a key shaped like an ankh around his neck.

"Who are they?" Matsuda mused, "Pegasus's parents?"

"The woman is his wife who died seven years ago," L answered, "I do not recognize the man, but he is not Pegasus's father."

The long table in the middle was already laden with food. They all sat down around it and eagerly began to eat. L was getting hungry himself...

As if on cue, the hotel room door opened and in walked an elderly man bearing a box which could contain only one thing.

"I thought you might be hungry," Watari said, placing the box in front of L with a small dessert fork on top.

L carefully folded back the thin leaves of cardboard to reveal what lay inside. A small smile spread across his face. A strawberry sat atop a slice of cake. This was a feast better than any several course meal Pegasus could present. He held the fork between his thumb and forefinger and took the first bite.

He savored the sweet taste like he only could while amidst an investigation.

There was only one thing that could improve upon this meal. The cake was soon joined by a cup of tea and a bowl of sugar cubes.

"Thank you, Watari."

L dropped sugar cubes into the tea as he watched the dinner through Matsuda's eyes. If the food was drugged, he would find out first hand through Matsuda what Pegasus wanted them to see, while L's mind remained clear.

At first they all ate in silence, too hungry to do anything else. Eventually the conversation returned to something that wasn't the meal before them.

"Say, Yami," Bakura said, "Why did Pegasus call you 'Raito'?"

"Wait and listen," L said, "Don't call him out yet."

"I don't know," Yagami said, "'Yami' is a nickname that the Puzzle seems to have taken a liking for. My real name is Akira Wakahisa, but you're welcome to keep calling me Yami."

So that was how he chose to resolve his dual identities. The pseudonym had likely been given to him by Pegasus. L wondered if he knew that his alternate identity was disobeying Pegasus. L suspected he did. There was a distinct possibility that Yagami was intentionally manipulating his alternate personality.

"Ha ha," Valentine said drily, "'Dark' instead of 'bright.' While you're at it, are there any other things you just forgot to mention?"

"I'm sorry for not telling you all sooner, I just didn't want to complicate anything. It's kind of silly in retrospect," Yagami said, his expression not quite contrite.

"Why 'Raito,' then?" she demanded.

"I don't know," Yagami said, "Maybe Pegasus was making a pun on Akira meaning 'bright.'"

"Why don't you ask him yourself if you're so curious?" Wheeler snapped at Valentine.

"That's not funny! You saw what Pegasus did to Mokuba and Seto Kaiba!" Tea exclaimed.

Croquet took the opportunity to interrupt, calling everyone's attention to the end of the table where he was standing, "On behalf of Mr. Maximillian Pegasus I'd like to congratulate the five finalists and welcome them to this final phase of the Duelist Kingdom competition. I trust you all have your play-off entry cards."

When everyone responded in confusion, he continued, "In your invitation to the Duelist Kingdom you received these two cards;" - he held up one blank Duel Monsters card, and one featuring a treasure chest surrounded in gold - "Glory of the King's Hand and Glory of the King's Opposite Hand. You must have one of these to participate in the final tournament. Those without them are disqualified."

'Bandit' Keith Howard and Joey Wheeler's faces fell.

"If you would all show them to me now as confirmation," Croquet said.

Wheeler was freaking out while Howard glanced around, searching for some way to get one of the prize cards from one of the other contenders. L had been wondering how Pegasus was going to manage a tournament of five, this looked like his answer. Of course Pegasus knew who he had actually invited, so one of the people who hadn't been would be eliminated - by the looks of it the least promising one for joining his cult - thereby evening things out. The question was how he would eliminate one and not the other, or would just just get rid of them both and have all of the remaining finalists duel each other?

"I have mine," Valentine held up two cards identical to the ones in Croquet's hand.

Yagami held up both of his cards as well.

"This is cheap!" Howard exclaimed, leaping to his feet, "We made it through your tournament, what does it matter if we don't have the damn cards?"

"The cards are necessary for receiving your prize," Croquet began to explain.

"I don't care about the fucking prize," Howard interrupted, "I'll duel Pegasus here and now! It'd save him all the trouble of watching these losers!"

Croquet gave him a nasty smile, but answered flatly, "Only the winner may duel Mr. Pegasus - and only if he or she possesses the Glory of the King's Opposite Hand."

"This whole damn tournament is a farce! I'm the only duelist qualified to be here!" Howard ranted.

"You didn't even win your own star chips!" Wheeler shouted at him.

"Why don't you show him your card? That's right, you don't have one!" Howard taunted.

"Yes he does!" Muto exclaimed, holding up his copy of Glory of the King's Hand.

"Are you sure?" Wheeler asked, making it even more obvious that the card Muto handed to him was not his own.

Muto nodded and answered with a little more intelligence, "I have mine, so that one has to be yours." He held up his copy of Glory of the King's Opposite Hand.

This was how Pegasus resolved the problem of having two finalists out of five who had not been invited. He was no doubt aware of Muto's friendship with Wheeler and the fact that they had split Muto's star chips to enter the tournament and so Pegasus had correctly guessed that Muto would give Wheeler his other entry card if it came down to this.

"Thanks Yug!" Wheeler said, "I have my card, what about you, Bandit Keith?"

Howard turned toward Croquet, "You're not going to let them get away with that bullshit! He clearly handed Wheeler his own card!"

"If you don't have either the Glory of the King's Hand or the Glory of the King's Opposite Hand, we're going to have to ask you to leave," Croquet said. Kemo stood in the doorway, arms crossed over his chest.

"I see how it is! Pegasus is afraid to duel me! Well, I ain't leaving until I beat his sorry ass-"

Kemo came up behind Howard and hooked an arm around his neck, "You're coming with me."

"You're gonna regret this Pegasus, you cheating bastard!" Howard shouted as he was dragged from the room kicking and screaming.

"Where is he taking him to?" Matsuda asked, his concern was reasonable.

"Pardon the interruption," Croquet said, ignoring Matsuda's question, "As I was saying, the Glory of the King's Hand will enable the winner to get the three million dollar prize and the Glory of the King's Opposite Hand grants them the chance to challenge Pegasus to a duel."

All of the finalists nodded in understanding.

"To make tomorrow's tournament interesting, your host has added an extra ingredient to your soup," he continued.

Why would he tell them it was drugged? Pegasus was far from subtle, but that had been a purposeful act. Why would he give up the game now?

"Do you perceive anything unusual?" L said into the headset.

Matsuda adjusted his glasses, making the camera shake back and forth.

Around him, there were exclamations of confusion. Matsuda looked around, following the others' gazes, and L saw golden eyeballs, modeled after the one in Pegasus's head, floating in each of the finalists' bowls.

"Hey! This is worse than having a fly in my soup!" Wheeler exclaimed.

"Open up the eye and look inside it, if you will," Croquet said, "Each of you has been randomly assigned a letter."

They each complied with varying degrees of confusion. Muto had "A," Valentine "B," Wheeler "D," and Yagami "C."

"And now the island's computer will pair up the letters to determine tomorrow's duel match-ups," Croquet said, and a screen descended from the ceiling behind him.

A bracket drew itself on the screen with a crown on top at the end of two branches, each with two branches of their own, "And tomorrow's duels are as follows: 'A' versus 'B,' 'C' versus 'D.'"

Muto versus Valentine and Yagami versus Wheeler.


	6. Camp Yet Ruthless

A loud noise jolted Touta Matsuda awake.

"Wake up!" L's voice blared over the speakers in Matsuda's ears.

"Augh!" He groaned in pain, "What's going on?"

The words came out garbled. Everything was blurry, even his thoughts.

 _Had he been drugged?_

No, he remembered, he hadn't eaten dinner to be safe. He had been so hungry when he got back to his room...

His stomach growled...

* * *

Hours earlier:

"I'm starving!" Matsuda flopped down onto the bed in his assigned guest room.

"Be careful, the room is probably bugged," L said into his ear.

He hadn't expected sympathy, but the aching in his stomach didn't appreciate its absence. It had been a long day, this was the last thing he needed.

He took off his glasses and rubbed his tired eyes. He was betting he wasn't about to get a full night's sleep, probably just a couple hours, if any.

"You didn't have to sit through that meal and pretend to eat," Matsuda muttered under his breath so even he could barely hear it.

There was no response on the other end, L probably hadn't heard it - probably for the best - or if he had, didn't care.

Matsuda hoisted his knapsack into his lap and began to root around in it. L wouldn't give him much time to rest before he had to continue investigating, he was sure. He had some provisions left at least, not a meal, but something-

"When you get back you can have some cake."

 _What?_

Had Matsuda heard L correctly? That had come out of nowhere. It had sounded serious, but L's electronic voice didn't really have tones, everything was serious. And how even was he supposed to respond to that?

He couldn't, the room was bugged - that solved that at least. He searched through his bag and somehow managed to cobble together an unsatisfying dinner of power bars that did little to satiate his hunger, but would have to do.

"Once you're done eating, it's time to investigate Pegasus," L said.

Matsuda was tired, but at least this might give him a chance to find out a bit more about what was going on, maybe even something he could use to help stop Pegasus and free his victims. He threw out the wrappers left over from "dinner," removed his shoes so he was just wearing the significantly quieter socks, and stepped out into the hall.

"Turn right," L said, he must have had a map of the castle.

Matsuda did as he was told.

"Where could it possibly be?" he murmured to himself - if anyone was listening the question would just make them think he was looking for the bathroom, but hopefully L understood it to mean that he was asking where they were going.

There was no answer as he walked on through the halls. At night they were dark and eerie. The walls were ornate, but blank. The whole mansion seemed to lack any real decoration, giving it a half-finished, abandoned feel. It was as though no one had ever lived here.

"Turn left," L said, his voice loud in Matsuda's ears.

Matsuda obliged.

There were faint noises in the dark that grew louder as his ears adjusted to their volume; static, creaking wood and metal, rustling fabric. But there was no one there. Did Pegasus really live here? Did he wander the halls like a ghost, with his magic eye and white hair? This was the sort of night that made you wonder if magic really was real… But that was what Pegasus intended, if he was in fact a cult leader - which Matsuda really wasn't going to dispute _L_ about, especially when it really did explain everything.

Maybe it was his dead wife's ghost that wandered these winding halls-

"Turn left."

Matsuda jumped.

It was just L.

"Don't startle so easily," L said, "You'll give yourself away the instant anyone sees you."

"Anyone would startle easily here, it'd be suspicious if I didn't," Matsuda whispered.

The sound echoed around him, losing its meaning and only serving to betray his presence to whatever dwelled between these white walls. If not for the gold trimmings he could have fancied it a hospital - or asylum…

"It is an act then?"

Matsuda's heart nearly leaped out of his chest at the sound, but he did not jump to his inordinate pride.

"No," Matsuda admitted.

"You don't believe Pegasus was telling the truth, do you? Or, do you believe in ghosts?" L asked – was L mocking him?

"N-no, not really…"

"Then it should be no problem."

"That doesn't mean I can't get frightened when I'm walking through a madman's house in the middle of the night."

"What are you afraid of?" L sounded confused.

That gave Matsuda a little pause. He was afraid of being caught, but he wasn't really sure what that entailed - after the being caught part - and at least he hoped he'd be able to talk himself out of the situation. He was afraid of Pegasus's eye. He knew it wasn't actually magical, but still…

"I don't want to end up like the Kaiba brothers," he said at last.

But he didn't really believe that Pegasus had stolen their souls, did he? And the idea of being drugged and imprisoned seemed so remote, that wasn't why he was jumping at L's voice. He hadn't thought he was afraid of the dark, but maybe he was, maybe they all were on some level...

"Are you afraid of the dark?" he asked L.

"No. Why would I be?" the inhuman voice emphasized the response.

Was L a robot? No, that was absurd. But then again, so much of his current situation was absurd...

"You were never afraid of the dark as a kid?" Matsuda asked, though he knew the answer.

"No. Are you?" L said.

"I guess most people are…"

"Are you?" the voice of L asked again.

"Yeah, I guess so…" Matsuda trailed off. "What are you afraid of, if not the dark?"

There was a pause. "I don't like losing."

Matsuda let out a quiet laugh, it sounded so childish. "That's not really a fear."

"What happens when you lose?"

 _What did that mean?_

 _Oh._

If L "lost" this case, that meant Mokuba and Seto Kaiba and who knew how many other people would be stuck as Pegasus's drugged servants, possibly forever. Bakura and Chief Yagami's son would still be brainwashed, doing his bidding - or worse if they tried to leave. Whoever was putting criminals into comas would continue for the foreseeable future. And this wasn't the worst case L had dealt with - far from it-

A sound echoed in the distance. It was someone talking, but Matsuda couldn't make out the words. Who was it, friend or foe? He didn't need L to tell him to follow it to the source. No matter what danger lay ahead they would not lose.

"Maybe Pegasus isn't a cheater," he could barely make out the words as they echoed past him. He was getting close.

It was a girl or woman's voice; probably Tea, or maybe Mai, not the ghost of Pegasus's wife, "He could be good at guessing cards, like a psychic or something."

"I once spoke to a psychic," he was close enough now to recognize the voice as Tristan's, "The lady said I'll have a nice girlfriend within six months. It's been a year, not a single date. I don't believe in psychic powers."

At the end of the hallway, Matsuda could see a blueish glow. As he got closer, he saw a figure standing there - it was Tea. She was standing on the balcony from which they had watched the duel between Pegasus and Kaiba. Down on the arena he saw a head of white hair that had to belong to Bakura. Tristan was nowhere in sight.

It sounded like they were trying to investigate Pegasus's "magic powers." Was Bakura leading the investigation on Pegasus's behalf, trying to steer them toward what Pegasus wanted them to see, or was just he watching them, making sure that they didn't see anything they weren't supposed to?

If Matsuda hid in the shadows, he might be able to hear something he wouldn't otherwise have a chance to, but if he approached them he could ask questions and maybe even get more information. He supposed it could go either way, but if he revealed himself, he couldn't then go back into hiding, so it was best to wait and listen unless L said otherwise. The detective was silent on the other end.

Suddenly, Tea turned toward him. He was about to reveal himself, but she stopped halfway to stare at something Matsuda hadn't seen. Was she seeing things or was there something just out of sight?

"What's wrong Tea?" Bakura asked, looking up at them – Matsuda wondered if Bakura could see him?

"Look!" she pointed at whatever it was.

Matsuda crept along the wall until he was just barely concealed in the shadows. She was staring at a narrow beam of light coming from somewhere on the wall, that went all the way down to where Tristan was standing on the blue side of the dueling arena and hit him square in the back.

"Tristan, your back!" Bakura exclaimed.

"Something on my back?" Tristan asked.

Tristan stood to look at the beam of light and Bakura made his way over to help examine it.

"I'll be right down there!" Tea called down to them.

"We'll be sure to search for you if you aren't," Bakura said - was that a threat or just a poorly worded gesture of concern?

Matsuda had little time to think of it as Tea turned toward where he was standing. He took the opportunity to reveal himself before she found him hiding there.

"What are you guys doing here? I heard shouting," Matsuda said as he stepped into the light.

She screamed and backed away.

"Is everything okay up there?" Tristan shouted.

Matsuda stepped forward so the others could see him clearly, his hands raised above his head like he had seen at the end of many police officers' guns, "It's just me! I'm sorry for frightening you! I heard shouting and followed the noise, I didn't mean to startle you."

"You didn't have to sneak up on her," Tristan said.

"I'm sorry," Matsuda turned to Tea, "Are you okay?"

She nodded, "Just a little startled, that's all. I guess we're all a little jumpy under the circumstances…"

Matsuda nodded, "I know what you mean. So what are you all doing here at this hour?"

"We could ask you the same," Tristan said. Matsuda didn't blame him for still being a little suspicious.

"Wouldn't it be easier to talk once we're all down here, so we don't have to shout?" Bakura suggested.

"That's a fair point, I hope we haven't woken up the entire castle," Matsuda said.

"Let's go," Tea said and led him back down the darkened hall.

"So why are you three here?" Matsuda asked.

"It was Tristan's idea," she explained, "He thought we might be able to figure out how Pegasus knew which cards Kaiba had. I think he wants to try and rescue Mokuba and Seto Kaiba."

"It is hard just to watch and do nothing, but you know this is a dangerous situation. What if you get caught?" Matsuda said.

"I know, it's scary, but Tristan is right, we have to do something while the others are dueling to get to Pegasus," Tea insisted.

She led him down a dark flight of stairs.

"What's your plan?" he asked.

"You'll have to ask Tristan, I don't know what he's thinking."

"Focus on Bakura," L said into his ear.

"So Tristan called on you and Bakura to investigate Pegasus?" Matsuda clarified.

She nodded.

Up ahead, he could see a bright patch of light. Slowly shapes became clear and he could see Tristan and Bakura standing, facing them, craning their necks to look up at the wall above the passageway. Tea hurried to meet them and Matsuda followed after her.

"There you are, we were beginning to wonder," Bakura said.

"Taro, what were you doing wandering around, or could you hear us in your room?" Tristan asked.

"Same as you, I guess; I was curious about what's going on," Matsuda explained.

"Don't reveal your mission," L said, "You are not among friends here. Keep an eye on Bakura."

Tristan nodded, "There's a lot to be curious about."

"Isn't that strange…" Tea remarked, looking up at the beam of light.

"How can moonlight enter this room?" Bakura wondered, but it could have just been an act.

Matsuda backed up and craned his neck to look where the light was coming from, "There must be a hole in the wall up there."

"Tristan, go stand on the dueling platform," Tea said, "And pretend to hold a card up just like you're dueling."

She must have suspected that this was how Pegasus cheated, using someone looking through the hole, but unless someone was standing on the roof to look through it directly, the light seemed to be coming in at such a sharp angle that someone could probably only use it if they were floating in the sky, unless there was a mirror there...

"Sure," Tristan said.

Matsuda followed the others to the platform and sure enough the light landed right on his hand as he was holding it up.

"Could it be…" Bakura said.

"I'll climb up and see," Tristan offered.

"Go instead," L ordered.

Matsuda agreed with him, he wasn't about to let a kid climb up a wall while he was perfectly capable of doing it himself, "Let me," he said, "I'll take a look at it and tell you what I see."

"Are you sure?" Tristan said.

Matsuda nodded.

"I'll help you onto the door frame and then the rest of it is all you," Tristan assented.

"Be careful!" Tea said.

Tristan hoisted him up just high enough so he could grab the edge of the awning over the doorway. He gripped it for dear life and strained muscles he hadn't used in too long until finally he pulled himself up onto the angled surface. He stopped a moment to catch his breath.

Then he stood, facing the wall. He found sturdy handholds before lifting his feet from the ground and placing them on the wall. Hand and foot, hand, hand, foot, foot, he gripped the wall as tight as he could, his arms ached and his heart pounded in his chest. He ignored the voices of the others below him. L was mercifully silent in his ears.

"I'm fine!" he shouted down whenever he remembered.

He craned his neck up, just a few more inches… His feet scrambled for purchase and he used them to push one hand up just far enough. And then he hung there, his eye suspended in front of the hole.

"Do you see anything?" it was L.

"What do you see?" Bakura shouted in tandem from below.

"Any mirrors?" L asked.

His eye strained and watered against the light. He blinked until the world came into focus. There were no mirrors that he could see, but there was a tower, just across the way. It wasn't at the right angle, but where it was placed didn't seem like a coincidence.

"Are you getting this?" he asked L, his breathy voice as low as he could make it.

"Tilt your head to the left," L instructed.

He did as he was bid.

"A little to the right."

"Is everything okay up there?" Tea shouted.

"There's a tower right across from here!" he said in answering and then dropped his voice, "Are you done?"

To his relief, L answered, "Yes."

Matsuda glanced down. It wasn't too far, he hoped. He hung by his arms and then let himself drop onto the top of the doorway. His feet slid but he grabbed onto the wall. He inched to the edge, sat down, and fell.

A jolt of pain shot up through his feet into his legs as he hit the ground. He let himself fall to his knees so his feet didn't take the entire blow, but it was a little too late. He stayed there a moment, catching his breath.

"So…" he said between gasps for air, "There's a tower... out there... across the way…"

"Do you think...?" Tea asked, letting her unspoken question hang in the air.

"Let's go find out!" Tristan said, full of youthful enthusiasm.

"What about the guards?" Bakura suggested caution.

"You'll be safe with me," Tristan assured him.

Matsuda hauled himself to his feet and before he could stop them, they set out at a run through the corridors. Matsuda followed behind as best he could.

"How'd you get dragged into this?" he asked Bakura as they ran.

"It's not like I don't want to help," Bakura said, "I guess I'm just scared…"

"What are you scared of?" Matsuda asked.

Bakura gave him a look like it was obvious, "Being caught."

He seemed terrified. He could have just been afraid of his cult leader, but it didn't seem like he was working for Pegasus, he seemed to genuine. Anyone could _seem_ genuine, but still, Matsuda found it hard to suspect him. Maybe the boy was just caught in a bad situation, trapped by Pegasus, but unable to get out. Maybe Bakura believed it… As farfetched as it was, his evil alternate personality could have existed without any of the magical mumbo jumbo.

Somehow, mostly by way of Tristan's uncanny sense of dead reckoning, they found their way out into a courtyard just below the tower.

"How are we going to get up there?" Tea asked.

"Yeah, the place must be swarming with guards," Bakura said.

"Simple," was Tristan's answer, "We climb."

"That's dangerous!" Matsuda exclaimed before they could attempt it, "What if you fall?"

"Would you rather get caught by Pegasus?" Tristan insisted, "This is our best bet."

"What if I just went up there and reported to you?" Matsuda suggested.

"What if you get caught?" Bakura asked.

"You can go alone if you want, but we're going up there with or without you," Tristan said.

"It's dangerous, you could fall," Matsuda tried again, but he sensed it was a losing battle.

"So could you," Tristan said.

"If Tristan's made up his mind, you're not going to convince him otherwise," Tea said.

"What about you two," Matsuda turned to Tea and Bakura, "The more of us there are the more likely it is they'll hear us. Why don't you go back?"

"We've come this far, we're not leaving that easily," Tea said.

Matsuda turned his entire focus onto Bakura.

"Sorry, I won't abandon my friends," even the timid boy held fast.

Matsuda sighed in resignation, "Let's go. Just be careful."

There wasn't much opportunity for talking as they clamored up the wall. Between the four of them, they moved slowly, but they helped each other up, giving each other lifts and pulling each other up. Finally they reached the top of the tower. They all stopped a moment to catch their breath.

However, they didn't have a long respite. Before Matsuda could stop her, Tea stepped up to the window and pulled it open.

"Do not interfere," L said.

She stepped inside and Matsuda watched her vanish into the room. She would scream if anything happened, right? But by then it would be too late. He hoped her silence was a good sign.

"Your plans are horrible!" Bakura was saying to Tristan.

"I got you up here safe and sound, didn't I?" Tristan answered.

"Sorry, I've got to agree with Bakura," Matsuda said, "You alright?"

Bakura nodded, "Just a little sore."

Matsuda nodded in sympathy, "Just a little farther."

He stood and Bakura followed suit.

Matsuda was the last one to step into a large, empty stone chamber. The walls were lined with plush curtains of purple and white, lined in golden tassels. On one wall was a huge portrait like that of the woman in the dining hall - Pegasus's wife. Was this some sort of shrine to her? Otherwise it looked like there was nothing there.

"I don't think we should be up here…" Matsuda said.

There may have been valuable information - perhaps something hidden behind the portrait - but the kids that were busy searching the room had bitten off more than they could chew.

"Focus, gather as much information as you can," L said.

"It's too late now," Tristan said at nearly the same time.

"There's nothing here, not even a telescope," Tea said.

Matsuda had almost forgotten they were technically trying to uncover how Pegasus had cheated in his duel against Seto Kaiba.

"How could that be?" Tristan said.

"Who do you suppose this is?" Bakura drew their attention over to the portrait.

The others gathered behind him.

"Don't tell them," L said, "I want to hear their guesses."

"Woah," Tristan marveled, "That's a mighty big painting…

"Can you find a light switch?" Tea glanced around the walls by the painting in search of one.

As if in answer to her question, the light turned on. Matsuda spun to face the source of the accompanying click.

"Did you turn on the lights?" Tea asked.

"No," Tristan said.

Matsuda shushed them before they could continue, but there was no one there.

"Be quiet, I'll keep an eye out," Matsuda whispered.

"Maybe the lights are voice activated," Tristan suggested.

The others turned back toward the portrait and began to whisper among themselves when Matsuda heard footsteps on the stairs.

"Shh!" he hissed, "I hear someone coming! Hide!"

They scrambled behind the curtains and froze there. Matsuda swore he could hear the others breathing. The footsteps came closer, loud and sharp against the stone steps.

"I know you're there," Pegasus called out, "You don't have to hide."

"Pegasus!" Tea exclaimed.

He heard rustling as the others emerged from the curtains.

"You too, detective, you're not fooling anyone," Pegasus taunted.

Matsuda froze.

What? How did Pegasus know? What had he done wrong? L wasn't saying anything, but that meant nothing. Matsuda couldn't help but wonder; had L given up on him as a lost cause and was now just listening and watching to see what happened?

"How'd you find us?" Tristan demanded.

Pegasus ignored him, "Enough of your game, this is becoming tiresome. A little birdy told me it saw you _four_ climbing up the walls."

"Yeah, well we're onto you, Pegsy," Tristan said, undeterred, "Listen up! You've been spying on Kaiba's cards from up here! The jig is up! Why don't you just admit it?"

A confrontation would do them no good, but there was nothing Matsuda could do. It was too late. Pegasus knew what he knew. Matsuda slipped out from behind the curtain and stood on the edge of the gathering. If Pegasus pulled anything, he had to be close enough to interfere and save the kids.

"You break into my private sanctuary through the window and accuse me of wrongdoing? Absolutely no one is allowed in this room, I'm afraid you four have seen too much." Pegasus said.

"What do you mean?" Tristan demanded.

Pegasus was going to kill them. Matsuda recognized those words. He inched closer and readied himself for action.

"You really have no idea what you're up against," Pegasus remarked, his expression turned dangerous, "You should have stayed in your rooms, instead you will now be disciplined."

Pegasus pulled back his hair to reveal his golden eye. Was he going to blind them, or was it just a distraction? Matsuda shielded his eyes and looked down.

Instead of a bright light, the lights vanished and the air began to waver around them. The floor wobbled beneath their feet. He had been drugged. Maybe there was something in the air - he hadn't eaten dinner so it couldn't have been fed to him then. He hoped L was getting enough from this.

He felt the floor give way and the others shouted as they fell through into darkness.

"It's real," the electronic voice of L sounded in his ear, but it could not have been real, it must have been a hallucination…

...

 _(Realm of shadows in this twilight hour, accept these souls and grant us power.)_

Matsuda was laying on a cold, hard floor. He heard people chanting somewhere in the distance. Were they coming closer, or was that just his head.

Where had Pegasus taken him while he was unconscious? Where were the others? Were they alright? Was he alright?

 _(Realm of shadows in this twilight hour, accept these souls and grant us power.)_

He forced his eyes open and shoved himself upright.

The others were there - Tristan and Tea and Bakura were laying on the ground around him.

 _(Realm of shadows in this twilight hour, accept these souls and grant us power.)_

"Good, you're awake," L said into his ear.

"What happened?" Matsuda asked, the question equally appropriate with or without the wire.

There was no answer.

 _(Realm of shadows in this twilight hour, accept these souls and grant us power.)_

The others awoke around him, groaning.

 _(Realm of shadows in this twilight hour, accept these souls and grant us power.)_

"Where are we?" Tristan asked groggily.

"Do you hear chanting?" Tea said.

 _(Realm of shadows in this twilight hour, accept these souls and grant us power.)_

"Let's go check it out," Tristan said.

"Wait here," Matsuda said, standing, "I'll go in alone."

 _(Realm of shadows in this twilight hour, accept these souls and grant us power.)_

The others stood too.

"We're coming with you," Tristan said.

"No, you're not," Matsuda insisted, "I'm trained to deal with this sort of situation-"

"What are you, some sort of ghostbuster?" Tristan demanded.

"Don't reveal your identity," L said.

 _(Realm of shadows in this twilight hour, accept these souls and grant us power.)_

If L had a better idea that wouldn't put these kids in danger then he could say it, but otherwise, Matsuda wasn't going to risk their lives again.

"I don't think it's any less dangerous right here than wherever this passageway leads…" Tea said.

"I don't see why we have to go wandering off at all, but the worst thing we could do is split the party!" Bakura said.

 _(Realm of shadows in this twilight hour, accept these souls and grant us power.)_

They had a point. If they waited here alone, what was to say Pegasus couldn't do something to them here.

"Alright," Matsuda said, "But follow me."

He led them down the stone corridor, whose walls were lined with paintings out of an Ancient Egyptian pyramid. No question this was a cult.

 _(Realm of shadows in this twilight hour, accept these souls and grant us power.)_

"How are you trained for this sort of thing?" Tristan refused to let him get away with the admission, "Who are you?"

Tea shushed him.

 _(Realm of shadows in this twilight hour, accept these souls and grant us power.)_

Up ahead, there was a large chamber, lit by torches. Matsuda and the three children huddled in the entryway. It looked even more like the inside of a pharaoh's tomb in a pyramid. There were rows of men in cloaks, all chanting in unison.

 _(Realm of shadows in this twilight hour, accept these souls and grant us power.)_

"They're going to sacrifice you," L said, entirely unhelpful.

A shiver ran up Matsuda's spine. He was glad the others couldn't hear what L had said. He would do everything in his power to stop them, but there was only so much he could do alone.

"Who are these clowns?" Tristan asked, a little too loud, "What do you think they're up to?"

"I don't know," Bakura whispered, "But they're creeping me out."

 _(Realm of shadows in this twilight hour, accept these souls and grant us power.)_

"Go back and find a way out," Matsuda hissed, "Before it's too late. I'll see what I can find out and create a distraction so you can escape."

"Maybe he has the right idea…" Bakura said.

"I don't know why you keep trying to get us to leave, but we're not going anywhere," Tristan said.

 _(Realm of shadows in this twilight hour, accept these souls and grant us power.)_

"Shh," Tea tried to shush them.

 _(Realm of shadows in this twilight hour, accept these souls and grant us power.)_

"Begin!" one cloaked figure declared.

The chanters fell silent as a stone tablet bearing an image of a dragon rose from the ground, as though by its own power.

"There's a blue eyes on that tablet…" Tristan said.

There was no color anywhere, what was he talking about?

"Blue eyes white dragon," L said, surprisingly helpful, "A Duel Monsters card."

"I don't like this, let's get out of here," Bakura said.

"Yes, go!" Matsuda told them, but he did not take his eyes off of the scene and he did not hear them budge.

"Look there!" Tea said, "It's that painting again, who can she be?"

She pointed into the room and sure enough, there was another portrait of Maximilian Pegasus's late wife. What connection did she have to the cult? Was she some sort of goddess to them? Was this a shrine to her?

Another stone tablet rose from the ground to face the other and they both spun around.

"You lose," Pegasus said - he was one of the robed men standing before the tablets.

One of the tablets crumbled and the man before him was consumed in a burst of blue light.

Matsuda was still hallucinating, there could be no other explanation.

The children screamed and the men in cloaks ran toward them from both sides of the room. It may have been a hallucination, but it may not have been and he would not let these children die!

"Run!" Matsuda shouted.

It was too late. Directly in front of them, between the two lines of cloaked men on either side was a man who had to be Maximilian Pegasus taking off his hood.

Matsuda ran toward him in an attempt to stop whatever was about to happen but the cloaked men grabbed him and held him back. Matsuda kicked and knocked one off, but others came and held him fast.

"Tisk tisk," Pegasus said, "An officer such as yourself should really know better…"

"Where did that robed guy go?" Tristan shouted.

They were still there?

"Run!" Matsuda shouted.

He went ignored, "He went to the Shadow Realm," Pegasus explained.

Matsuda grabbed onto the faint glimmer of hope that remained. Pegasus was using the opportunity to further his doctrine. Maybe he wasn't going to kill them, maybe he was just trying to convince them that this was real, but they were just hallucinating, it was just stage magic. He wasn't going to kill them after he went through all this effort to explain his doctrine to them, at least he wouldn't kill all of them. Unless this was just for his other disciples... Or were they all a hallucination?

"And my dear Bakura," Pegasus rounded on him, "Your capture will do more than just strengthen my shadow powers, for I shall also gain control over your Millennium Ring."

Was that an act or did he truly believe that the Ring was magical and being kept from him? Was Bakura truly working for him, or was he in danger? Or both? Matsuda's thoughts ran in wild circles around his imminent demise.

Pegasus's eye began to glow-

"What's this?" Pegasus exclaimed and the light fell.

Someone was laughing behind Matsuda, a low malicious laugh. "Change in plans."

Matsuda twisted around in his captor's' grasp to see Bakura standing there, a golden ring hanging from his neck, glowing. His expression had grown dark and dangerous. This was not the same Bakura. It was just like Light Yagami and his pyramid, but not as friendly.

Light burst from both golden artifacts. Matsuda shielded his eyes and could see nothing but blinding light. The ringing in his head drowned out the shouting.

"Erase their minds!"

* * *

A loud noise jolted Touta Matsuda awake. His head ached. His breath came fast as if he had just emerged from a nightmare.

"Wake up!" L's voice blared over the speakers in Matsuda's ears.

"Augh!" He groaned in pain, "What's going on?"

The words came out garbled. Everything was blurry, even his thoughts.

 _Had he been drugged?_

No, he remembered, he hadn't eaten dinner to be safe. He had been so hungry when he got back to his room...

His stomach growled...

"What happened?" he asked.

"I don't know," L said.

That could not have been a good sign.

After a moment of consideration, L said, "There is a 25% chance that Pegasus has supernatural abilities."

"What?" Matsuda exclaimed

That was absurd. L couldn't have been drugged, what had he seen? There was no way L believed all of that nonsense...

"I saw everything you saw. It was not a hallucination," L said.

"What wasn't a hallucination?" Matsuda tried to rack is brains for some clear evidence of magic, but all he found was a sharp ache.

"So you did lose your memories..." L mused, "What is the last thing you remember?"

"I was just about to go and investigate... What happened? What's going on?" Matsuda demanded.

What had happened to him while he was unconscious - or while he was drugged or whatever it was? Was everyone alright? He had a strong feeling that the others were in danger!

"Calm yourself," L said, "You met up with Taylor, Gardner, and Bakura-"

"You mean Tea and Tristan?" Matsuda clarified.

"Yes. You entered Pegasus's inner sanctum, inside was a portrait of Pegasus's wife - you found nothing else of note. Pegasus found you and used his Millennium Eye to cause you to melt through the floor-"

"What?" Matsuda exclaimed.

That sounded like a hallucination, not something that had really happened. Was L trying to mislead him? But why would he? Matsuda was working for him, right? Was this what L had seen? That was impossible! This was why L suddenly professed a belief in magic. But it had to be special effects, right? What else could it have been? And how had he forgotten it?

It was too strange. Had L been drugged too? But how could he from wherever he was? Was L just feeding him the story so he could infiltrate the cult more easily? Who was L anyway?

"I do not know how Pegasus did it, but that is why I suspect supernatural involvement," L continued, as though he was not saying something utterly unbelievable.

"But that's absurd! You said so yourself!" Matsuda insisted.

"What I have seen has led me to draw an alternate conclusion."

Had L been hypnotized? Had his cameras been hacked?

"You're sure that's what happened though? How don't I remember it if I wasn't drugged?" Matsuda asked.

"The spirit of Bakura's Millennium Ring. I do not know how he did it."

"But you think it was magic?"

"Something of the sort, yes."

Matsuda's head fell into his hands. It was too much for his aching mind to process. Maybe everything would be clearer in the morning. Maybe he was just having a stress dream... He could only hope.


	7. Children's Card Games

Yugi Muto versus Mai Valentine

Winner: Yugi Muto

Joey Wheeler versus Light Yagami (aka Akira "Yami" Wakahisa)

Light Yagami stood on the red side of the arena, waiting. The puzzle was hidden in a satchel over his shoulder, just in case, but he doubted he would need it. Across from him stood Joey Wheeler, his expression foolish not only for its overconfidence. This would be easy, the only real point of the match would be to reinforce his hold over Bakura's pawns.

"Congratulations," Light said with just enough enthusiasm, as the duel began with a hand of five cards.

Wheeler glanced up from his own deck to give Light a look of confusion.

Light continued, "No matter who wins, your sister will be getting her operation."

"Oh yeah! You're right!" Wheeler exclaimed, "It's just me, you and Yugi now! But that doesn't mean I'll go easy on you!"

"Of course not," Light played a card face down, "Though I didn't know you wanted to duel Pegasus."

"That's what these finals are for, eh? To make sure that the best duelist faces Pegasus so we're sure to win. You'll have to do more than that to beat me!" Wheeler shouted, playing a monster which materialized as a warrior ready to attack on the arena in front of them,

It would have been intimidating if Light was closer to Wheeler's caliber, but the boy was an idiot and Light was going to make the fact painfully clear. The monster attacked and was destroyed by Light's trap card in short order.

"What about Pegasus's Millennium Eye?" Light asked as he placed another card face down, "How do you plan on beating his mind-reading abilities without a Millennium Item of your own?"

"Hey, you're our friend and all, but nothing you say will convince me to surrender, you got that!" He played another monster card which was subsequently destroyed.

"I know," Light said, continuing the pattern, "I just want to make sure that whoever duels Pegasus is the person best equipped to do so. I don't want anyone else to get hurt and your sister isn't the only one at stake."

"Whoever duels Pegasus, there's no way he can lose with all he's been through - whichever one of us it is! Don't you worry about your sister, she'll be home safe and sound before you know it!"

Another monster played and destroyed.

"Man, this duel is going nowhere! Do you have any monsters in that deck?" Wheeler said.

Light answered with a monster in defense mode and two cards face-down - he would teach this boy how to play the hard way - "Do you have any trap cards?"

Wheeler played another monster and a face down of his own, "Why don't you find out?"

Light attacked.

Wheeler laughed as he flipped over his face-down to reveal Chasm of Spikes, "Got you!"

"Not so fast," Light flipped over one of his face-downs, turning the trap on its owner.

"Not again!" Wheeler exclaimed.

"Sorry," Light said as genuinely as he could muster, "I'm not holding back either, there's too much at stake here."

Wheeler drew another card, "If you're not holding back, how come you're not using that magic pyramid of yours?"

Light doubted Wheeler had come up with the question all on his own, Bakura had probably put him up to it. "You've seen what Ryo's Millennium Ring can do."

"Isn't yours a good guy, though?" Wheeler seemed confused by Light's clear set up.

Still, Light knew better than to rush it, so he merely answered, "I think so…"

"What? You mean you're not sure?"

"How much do you know about the Millennium Items?" Light asked, as though he was just gaging Wheeler's level of knowledge to tailor an explanation to it.

"I don't even know if they're real. But you've got one, wouldn't you know if yours was evil?"

"You'd think so," Light left a lingering doubt in the boy's mind, "You've known Ryo for a while, right? Couldn't you tell that something was wrong?"

Wheeler rubbed the back of his neck betraying his discomfort, "None of us know him that well… He always kept to himself, it wasn't like he was laughing evilly in the corner or anything."

"You don't know how long he's been under the Ring's control?" Light feigned surprise.

"Well, not really, no…"

"Or what the Ring's been making him do?"

"You're not dueling Bakura, you're dueling me! Is that the best you've got?" Wheeler played a trap card – Graverobber - and used it to steal Light's Counter Trap, turning Light's own trap on himself.

Wheeler wasn't going to get away with this, but Light didn't have time to waste on a foolish game.

"You want to see my Millennium Puzzle?" Light asked with just a hint of a competitive edge.

He tied the puzzle around his neck and he felt its spirit take control.

"If you want it, you've got it," the spirit declared, using Light's voice as its own.

Light would not tolerate failure.

"It's on!" Wheeler exclaimed, playing another monster.

The puzzle responded not with a trap, but a monster of his own. This was why Light had been dueling on his own, but it didn't matter, even the puzzle could defeat Wheeler. The duel was as good as his.

"You even duel like a different person," Wheeler said as his monster was destroyed, "Who are you?"

"I am the spirit of the Millennium Puzzle," he answered, the words were pulled from Light's body through no will of his own.

"You've gotta know something about what's going on!" Wheeler insisted.

"All I know is that Pegasus must be stopped," the puzzle said.

The foolish spirit of the puzzle was giving away more information than it received. It seemed to have the duel under control - little miracles - but Light would be lucky if it did not give away his entire plan at this rate. Light tried to impose his will over the spirit without wresting control from it entirely.

"What do you know of the situation?" the puzzle asked - that was not what Light had intended, but it was what he would get.

"Me? I don't even know what's real anymore!" Wheeler exclaimed.

"What is it that you all find so unreal?" The puzzle attempted to ask another question.

"You know, the whole magic thing…"

"Ah."

There was a pause as another turn passed. The spirit was wasting time. Light willed it to ask another question.

It complied, "What do you mean by magic?"

Again, not what Light had intended, but perhaps he could use the puzzle's blunder to gain more insight about Bakura and the Millennium Ring.

"Well, you know, magic! Like Pegasus reading people's' minds and stealing their souls," - he glanced up at their host who gave him a small smile that he clearly intended to be ominous - "That sort of thing..."

"You find that unusual?" The puzzle asked.

"More than unusual! It's impossible! Or, at least I thought it was. That sort of thing only happens in stories! How is that normal for you?"

"It is all that I have ever known," the puzzle admitted.

"Take it from me, your life is crazy!"

This was going nowhere, let alone furthering Light's plans. If anything it was giving Wheeler and Bakura more information.

The duel continued in all of its inanity. At least it would soon be over.

"Are you evil?" Wheeler asked suddenly.

Light would have laughed if he had control of his own body. It would have been a meaningless laugh to all who heard it, but internally, it was harsh and wild. The question was absurd, a joke if the person who had said it were capable of sufficient thought.

The spirit of the puzzle took an alternative approach, as Light's features twisted into an expression of confusion and injured pride, "I am not evil. What led you to such a conclusion?"

"Yami didn't know - the other one I mean - so I thought I'd ask for him," Wheeler explained.

"He knows that I am not evil," the puzzle said before Light could stop it.

"It's not obvious with all the evil spirits running around!" Wheeler attempted to justify Light's feigned uncertainty – this proved he had bought into it, at least.

"I will defend you and your friends with my life, I promise you. And I will bring Pegasus to justice for what he has done," the puzzle declared.

"If you're the one who duels him," Wheeler said, as though he still had a chance, "You have to get through me first! Don't think we'll let you do this all on your own!"

"I may not go in alone, but I will be the one to face Pegasus."

Winner: Light Yagami

* * *

This was it, the final duel before Pegasus could be vanquished at last. His twisted game was finally almost at its end. The Pharaoh - Yami was the name he had taken for himself - faced the small boy who was his last opponent. This would not be an easy duel, he could not afford to let his vessel make his beginner's mistakes. More than that, he wanted to be the one to duel Yugi Muto.

They stood face to face across the arena, each eying his opponent, taking one last moment to prepare for the battle of wills that was due to follow.

"I am honored to be your opponent in this duel," Yami said, breaking the anticipatory silence between them.

Yugi nodded, his expression serious and determined, but still open and soft.

There was a moment's hesitation before Yugi spoke, "Which Yami are you right now?"

"I am the spirit of the Millennium Puzzle," Yami answered with confidence, relieved his vessel had finally given up his lies and misdirections – at least that portion of them.

Yugi's face lit up at his words. "Thank you for saving us from the evil spirit of Bakura's Millennium Ring!"

"I could not let him destroy the souls of you and your friends," Yami answered. "But do not think that means I will let you win this duel. I will not allow another person to sacrifice their soul in a duel against Pegasus."

"I know we'll both do our best so whoever wins is ready to face Pegasus." Like his friend Yami had dueled before, Yugi refused to back down. Yugi's boldness earned Yami's respect and frustration in equal measure.

They each drew their first hand. Yami recognized all of the cards he was holding. He had chosen his own deck for the duel, not one of the many Light had created which barely had any monsters at all. Light had augmented this deck, but it still contained the Pharaoh's soul.

However, this was not just a duel, it was also an opportunity to speak with Yugi, who he found so inexplicably fascinating. There were so many questions, he didn't know which to ask first.

None. He had a duel that required his full attention. And then he would face Pegasus. All he needed to do was win.

Yugi had played a monster. Yami countered with an attack from one of his own.

"Not so fast!" Yugi stopped the attack short with a spellbinding circle, that enabled him to destroy Yami's monster.

No!

"Are you sure everything's alright?" Yugi asked, his voice all innocence and concern. "You seem a little distracted."

"A foolish mistake," the Pharaoh admitted, "One I will not make again."

"I just want to make sure I'm dueling you at your best," Yugi said, his expression set.

"I will give you nothing less."

Yami was not facing just another young duelist. This was Yugi Muto, a worthy opponent if such a thing existed - he would not dignify Kaiba or Pegasus with the title. He owed Yugi his full attention. And if he lost, he would not even have the opportunity to duel Pegasus to save Light's sister and all the others. He was the only one in the tournament who could beat Pegasus – anyone who did not posses a Millennium Item was doomed to fail.

But there were so many questions left unanswered. A duel was a conversation between souls in the form of cards and the decks they formed together. What was in Yugi's soul?

"Why do you wish to duel Pegasus?" Yami asked as he played another card.

"I want to stop him and save everyone whose soul he's taken - Kaiba, Mokuba, and your sister!" Yugi answered. "That's the same as what you want to do, right?"

"Yes," Yami said as he laid down another card. "But you are just a normal child. You have no stake in Pegasus's dangerous game. Why put your life at risk? Why fight so hard to put yourself in the most dangerous position?"

"Someone needs to save them!"

"But why must that person be you? You are not the only one willing to sacrifice his life to defeat Pegasus, nor are you the best equipped-"

"No matter what you say, I won't surrender, if that's what you're trying to make me do!" Yugi interrupted, destroying another one of Yami's monsters.

The backlash hit him in an incorporeal wave that hit his very soul - not his vessel's body - tearing away his life points.

"No, I do not wish for you to surrender, I merely wish" - for you to lose - "to understand."

He needed to focus! He could not win if his attention was divided between dueling and questioning, as much was clear.

"You don't have to fight Pegasus alone!" Yugi said, his voice nearly a shout.

"You do not need to fight him at all," Yami countered.

Yami felt his muscles tense and his posture straighten.

He would win this duel and prove to Yugi that his involvement was unnecessary, that he did not need to risk his life for this. He would save Yugi whether he wanted to be saved or not.

His hand moved of its own volition to lift the puzzle from around his neck, though he kept a tight hold on the rope from which it hung. The other hand draw a card and placed it face down.

His mouth moved and his voice echoed in his ears though he had not intended to speak, "Of course I won't be fighting Pegasus alone, I'll have all of you cheering me on. I just wanted to understand why you and your friends are so willing to risk everything to fight Pegasus even though Joey's sister's operation is already guaranteed."

"We won't stop fighting until everyone's safe," Yugi said with the will of something much greater than the small boy that stood before him.

"You said it, Yug!" Joey shouted from the sidelines.

"That's very noble of you," Light said, his tone on the edge of condescending, "But I don't want you or your friends to get hurt."

"And we don't want anything to happen to either of you," Yugi said. He hesitated before he continued, "Are you the... real Yami – Akira, that's your real name, right?"

His head nodded and his vessel spoke, "You can all still call me Yami. I'm the Millennium Puzzle's vessel."

"What happened to the other Yami that you had to take over in the middle of the duel?" Yugi seemed worried.

Light deflected the question, "He's fine, though he seems a little distracted. He does usually take care of duels, but we'll have to work together to defeat you."

What was Light doing? He had four cards face down, all but one of them counter traps, and a single monster on the field that Yugi knew better than to attack. The Pharaoh didn't know what Light's strategy was, but he seemed utterly at a loss, and yet he was as confident as if the game was nearly won.

"That's high praise. Let's see how both of you handle this!" Yugi summoned his Dark Magician.

This was more than Light could handle, but Yami could not horse his arm to budge. He needed to put the puzzle back on.

"Do you know anything about the evil spirit in Ryo's Millennium Ring?" Light was saying.

Yugi shook his head. "The first time any of us met it was when it dueled the spirit of your Millennium Puzzle. Bakura knows the most out of all of us. Why are you asking?"

"Even though I have the Millennium Puzzle, I don't know much about it," Light explained, "I want to understand these Millennium Items as best as I can, especially since I'll be going up against Pegasus."

"We'll see about that!" Yugi answered Light's arrogance. "Dark Magician attack!"

Light flipped over two of his trap cards, and Yugi called upon a spell card of his own. The attack went through and Yami felt Light's control falter as a piece of his life was taken away. Yami pulled up his arms and put the puzzle back around his neck.

"My apologies for that intrusion," Yami said, "It is I who will defeat you."

"You don't have many life points left…" Yugi cautioned – he underestimated the spirit of the Millennium Puzzle.

"You have succeeded under similarly desperate circumstances, have you not?"

Yugi assented, his face reddened with humility.

"There is some affinity between us," Yami said, "I can feel it in my soul. I summon a Dark Magician of my own!"

The two identical monsters hovered in the air, face to face. Yami was behind, but it was time he turn the duel around. Their monsters were equally matched, now they would discover if they themselves were.

Yami played one card face down and ended his turn.

Yugi drew a card and did the same.

Another face-down a piece. They each dared the other to make the first move.

Yami caved first, calling for an attack.

Yugi flipped over one of the cards face-down in front of him. It was a Mirror Horse trap that reflected Yami's attack back at his Dark Magician. Just before it made impact, Yami flipped over one of his own face-downs to reveal Magical Hats. Four gigantic top hats materialized on the arena, one of which concealed the Dark Magician. The blast hit a hat that vanished in a poof of smoke. The Pharaoh and his monster remained unharmed.

Across from him, Yugi looked stunned by the maneuver. Yami had thought it was not quite complicated enough to warrant such a response, especially not from Yugi of all duelists.

"I hope I did not blow too severe a hole in your strategy," Yami said, carefully expressing his concern.

Yugi shook his head. "No, I just recognize your strategy."

Yugi directed his own Dark Magician to attack one of Yami's Magical Hats. The hat vanished revealing a Mirror Horse of his own. The attack blasted back toward Yugi, who flipped over his other face-down card; Magical Hats. Four hats appeared on his side of the field, on of which concealed his Dark Magician. The blast hit an empty hat that vanished in a poof of smoke.

Three hats on one side and two on the other. Yami stared at Yugi across the arena and Yugi stared back at him.

They were perfectly matched. But more than that, somehow, Yami did not know how, their souls reflected each other. The rest of the duel had not been like this, but calling the Dark Magician to the arena had brought out something that was mirrored in both of them.

"How," Yami began, but he didn't know what to ask.

"I don't know..." Yugi seemed to understand the unarticulated question. "What do you think it means?"

"I could not say," the Pharaoh answered.

"It's your turn," Yugi said eventually.

Yami placed one card face down and ended his turn.

Yugi's Dark Magician emerged from the middle hat on his side of the arena and attacked one of Yami's. The hat vanished and a Spellbinding Circle appeared around Yugi's Dark Magician. Yami's Dark Magician took the opportunity to emerge from the final hat remaining on his side of the field. It attacked and destroyed its weakened doppleganger.

"It's not over yet!" Yugi exclaimed. He drew a card and played Kuriboh in defense mode.

The duel was not over yet and when it was, Yami would be the victor, but Kuriboh? Of all the monsters in the game, why play the weakest? Yami was disappointed - nearly insulted - by Yugi's indirect surrender.

"There is no need for you to lose hope of victory yet, unless you now wish for me to duel Pegasus in your place, as I have offered…" Yami said, still attempting to puzzle out Yugi's motive.

Yugi shook his head, "I will never surrender. I'm sorry, but you won't be the one to duel Pegasus."

He played Multiply and the arena was flooded with Kuribohs.

Yami saw his defeat in the cards before it occurred. "Are you sure about this? Pegasus is dangerous. You can't lose - you know what happens if you do. We only have one chance to beat him and save everyone."

"I beat you, didn't I?" Yugi said with a small smile, "I guess that means I've got the best chance of anyone."

"He has powers beyond anything either of us knows," Yami insisted one last time.

"If no one tries then no one will beat him. Trust me," Yugi pleaded.

With that Yugi attacked and ended the duel.

Yami felt his control slipping. He could barely hear Pegasus congratulating Yugi on his victory in the Duelist Kingdom tournament. Each step took an inordinate amount of effort. His arm so desperately wanted to remove the Puzzle from around his neck, but he couldn't let it, not yet. Just a little longer. There was just one more thing that he had to do.

He met Yugi in the hall that led from the arena.

"You don't have to go in alone," Yami said, "I'll be with you."

He let his hands remove the Puzzle and used the last of his fading control over his vessel's body to hand it to Yugi before the world went black.

(Light was not happy.)

* * *

"Yami! I need your help!"

The thought echoed in the Pharaoh's mind, louder than any words. It pulled him from the depths of his Millennium Puzzle, into a body that he could call his own.

He recognized that voice - "Yugi? What's going on?"

He stood on the blue side of a dueling arena. Across from him was a book closed in mid air and beyond that stood Pegasus himself, his expression smug. This was it, this was the final duel. His side of the field was empty and his life points were down to 900. Pegasus was unscathed.

"Raito-boy," Pegasus exclaimed, "There you are! I was wondering when you'd show up. You're a little late to the party, I was just dueling little Yugi, though I doubt he'll last much longer."

"Pegasus!" Yami shouted in Yugi's voice, "What have you done to him?"

"Nothing more than destroy a few of his monsters. Can't bear to see your little friend lose a duel?" Pegasus taunted.

"This isn't a joke, Pegasus," Yami shouted. "Lives are at risk here!"

"Ask your little friend why he's losing, if you're so bothered by it," Pegasus said, as though there was nothing at stake.

"I don't know what to do," Yugi's voice echoed in his mind. "Pegasus can read my every thought! I can't beat him on my own, but maybe with two of us we could have a chance at winning."

There was so much at risk they couldn't afford to lose, but the duel was nearly over already. How could they possibly win? What would happen to them if they lost? Yami could feel Yugi's anxiety radiating off of him, intensifying his own fears. The surge of emotion threatened to overwhelm him, but he could not afford to be afraid if he wanted to bring Pegasus to justice for all he had done!

"Yami, is everything alright?" Yugi's thoughts even sounded frightened.

Yami could not let Pegasus win. He had to be strong for both of them. "We will defeat Pegasus, I swear it!"

He glanced down at his hand.

The Dark Magician! It would take more than Pegasus's Millennium Eye to stop the monster in both of their souls!

He merely had to think it and so it was done. It was not just his hand, but Yugi's hand as well that moved to place the Dark Magician in attack mode and defend it using Magical Hats. There was no fighting for control, no waiting for a distraction, it was as though the body he inhabited truly was his own.

Together, they could save everyone!

But Pegasus laughed at them. His eye shone with power. He could read their minds, that was all he had to do to find out which hat concealed the Dark Magician. There had to be another way to fight the magic of the Millennium Eye.

"I have an idea!" He could almost hear Yugi's thoughts as though they were standing side by side.

In his mind's eye, the Pharaoh could see the junction of their souls where they conversed.

"What do you have in mind?" Yami asked, "And speak quickly, I can feel Pegasus trying to probe our thoughts."

He could feel an unwelcome presence reaching into his mind, searching the labyrinth of his soul, trying to drag out the location of the Dark Magician.

"Okay, this is it, each time I play a card, Pegasus reads my mind. What if we switched back and forth?" Yugi suggested.

"That could work…" Yami said, hastily searching for any glaring flaws in the plan.

Yugi explained, "That way, each of us wouldn't know everything, so whatever Pegasus looks for, the other could take over and stop him from finding it."

Yami could find no flaws in it, but still the plan did not feel right to him. "Are you sure you wish to continue to subject your mind to Pegasus's probe? Allow me to take your place in the duel."

"But Pegasus can read your mind too, right? I don't think there is another way to beat his mind reading. We have to work together!" Yugi insisted, his willpower nearly overwhelmed the Pharaoh.

"Very well, but if things become too dangerous, let me resume control," and with that, Yami let himself fade into the darkness.

Yugi had taken his turn and given Yami back control. He felt Pegasus probing his mind, searching for the identity of a card he hadn't known was face down on his side of the field. The Magical Hats were still on the field – their ploy had worked and that the Dark Magician was still safe, or so he hoped. He did not know what the face-down card was and by the look on his face nor did Pegasus.

"What?" Pegasus demanded, confirming Yami's suspicions, "I can't tell what that hidden card is that you just played!"

It was a success! They would bring Pegasus to his knees as they had done with all the other criminals they had faced!

He could feel Yugi's fear tearing at him, but that only strengthened his resolve. Yugi need not be afraid for his safety or that of his friends for much longer. They would save everyone and then no one would have anything to fear.

"I see little Yugi is making use of you at last, Raito-boy," Pegasus said in a vain attempt to conceal his despair, "A clever little stratagem on his part, but if you think it'll be enough to defeat me, you're sorely mistaken."

"You underestimate our power!" Yami drew another card and lay it face down on the field, bringing Pegasus one turn close to his demise.

"Don't get ahead of yourself," Pegasus said with a condescending little smile that Yami would be all too glad to wipe off his face. He destroyed another empty hat and ranted as though he'd already won, "As clever as your little trick is, the fact of the matter is that you're both outclassed. If Yugi can't beat me on his own, there's nothing you can do to help him - or have you already forgotten that he just defeated you in the final round. You're lucky I'm being lenient and letting you duel me at all. I only agreed to duel the winner of my tournament, not the duelist in second place and I certainly never agreed to duel them both at once."

"It is only fair for both contestants to possess a Millennium Item," the Pharaoh pronounced, "All I have done is even the odds."

Pegasus merely laughed at the Pharaoh with a high false giggle.

He'd had enough of Pegasus's nonsense! He did not want Yugi to be forced face to face with him, but he felt Yugi tugging at the edge of his conscious, asking to be given control. This was Yugi's body and Yugi was not even his vessel. He would not forcibly possess him as much as he wanted to keep him as far away from Pegasus as possible. And so, he surrendered control.

He returned just as Pegasus drew another card and played it. Magical Neutralizing Horse destroyed the remaining Magical Hats, revealing his Dark Magician and leaving it wide open for an attack by the Toon Summoned Skull.

His only hope lay in the two cards face down before him. He didn't know what they were, but Yugi did.

He watched from a distance as all of Pegasus's monsters were destroyed. This was the skill of Yugi Muto, a duelist worth respecting. On the other side of the arena, the creator of Duel Monsters himself was blabbering away like a common thief as he stared down the barrel of defeat. That would make this moment all the sweeter.

"Let us bring him to his knees," Yami declared in thought, "And finish him once and for all!"

Yugi stopped cheering.

When he projected his thoughts at the Pharaoh again, his tone was hesitant, suspicious even. "What do you mean by that?"

"It is time we bring him to justice! He will face retribution for what he has done!" the Pharaoh said.

"He has done a lot of terrible things… Including stealing Yami- the other Yami's sister's soul…" Yugi said, but there was some discomfort in his thoughts.

What had gone wrong? Had he made some mistake? What was this sudden doubt and malaise that infected his mind?

"What's wrong?" he asked Yugi – the boy had to be the source of this uncertainty.

Before he had a chance to reply Yugi froze as the arena was consumed in shadows. The duel was far from over; Pegasus had taken it to the Shadow Realm.

"You'll find your experience in the Shadow Realm this time around will be a lot harder than your last," Pegasus said with an evil grin, "The strain of maintaining your mind shuffle will make it more difficult for you to mentally conjure up your monsters."

"He's right…" even Yugi's thoughts seemed to take an inordinate amount of effort, "I feel weak…"

No! This was what he had feared when he had given Yugi the Millennium Puzzle. He was a mere mortal, he could not withstand it, even with Yami's help it was too dangerous. Why couldn't he have defeated Yugi in the previous round? Why had he let him put his life at risk?

It was time Yami take over and finish the duel before any damage could be done.

* * *

It all came down to a game of Duel Monsters. Which apparently had magical implications, if L was to be believed. Touta Matsuda himself wasn't so sure. It was a new day and things hadn't gotten any less confusing. He had watched the other games - watched Pegasus watching the other games, for most of it - and he had seen Light Yagami's split personality, but that didn't mean anything more supernatural than a psychological disorder was going on. All the others seemed confident that if Yugi won, that would somehow save all of Pegasus's victims, but that didn't mean it was true.

Matsuda was about to follow Joey and Tea up to the upper gallery when L interrupted, "Wait, watch Bakura."

L kept mentioning Bakura, apparently he had played a significant role in whatever it was that L had seen and Matsuda didn't remember. He may have thought his boss was going insane, but L at least deserved the benefit of the doubt. There had to be something that convinced him that what he had thought was a cult was really magic, something that apparently involved Ryo Bakura. Maybe Matsuda could figure out what had been able to fool him - though it was unlikely Matsuda would be able to figure out what L could not.

Maybe it all really was magic, but that was so unlikely, impossible really!

Suddenly Tristan bolted off.

"Tristan, where are you going?" Bakura called after him - he seemed just as confused by his friend's behavior as Matsuda was.

Tristan stopped short, "I'm gonna see if I can find Kaiba or Mokuba anywhere because if I can get them back, even without their souls, then Pegasus won't hold all the cards," he said and ran off.

"Wait up!" Matsuda shouted, feeling a distinct sense of deja-vu, "It might be dangerous!"

"Stop," L said, just as he reached the first turn, "Go back, but keep out of sight and follow Bakura."

Matsuda didn't want to leave the boy to run around a madman's house alone, but he nodded and complied. He crept back along the wall as quietly as he could. He just saw Bakura's back as the white-haired boy vanished into the hallway on the other side. Matsuda kept just close enough to see him as he wound through the perpetually darkened halls, down corridors and up stairs, going somewhere…

He heard conversation in the distance, a male and female voice that soon became recognizable as Tea and Joey watching the duel. Bakura wasn't doing anything suspicious or even unusual, he was just going to join his friends. Meanwhile, Tristan was getting into who knew what kind of trouble. If only Matsuda could join him, he could at least do something to help.

"You do not need to hide," L said.

Matsuda nodded and ran out onto the galley as if he had been running the whole way. He stopped to catch his breath, leaning heavily against the railing, breathing in gulps of air.

"I lost him," he explained between gasps.

"Lost who?" Joey asked, "What's going on?"

"It's Tristan, he went to rescue Seto and Mokuba Kaiba," Matsuda explained.

"Oh no! I hope he's not in danger!" Tea glanced around the room as though there was a chance Tristan was there.

"We have to find him!" Joey looked like was ready to run off after him.

"The more of us who go the more people who could get caught by Pegasus," Yagami said, though he did not turn away from the duel below, "And some of us have to stay here to support Yugi."

"He's right," Matsuda said before the others could protest.

"I'll go!" Bakura interrupted.

"It's too dangerous!" Matsuda insisted.

"Let him go and then follow him," L said before Matsuda could offer to search for Tristan in his place.

It wasn't what he had in mind, letting a child wander off into danger, but he had to go and help Tristan, and if L wasn't going to let him go any other way, this would have to suffice. And this way, maybe he would find out what had L so suspicious of Bakura.

"Don't worry about me," Bakura said, "I'll just tell them I'm lost if I get caught. Yugi needs all of you and he needs Tristan too. I'll be back before you know it."

He seemed to have no sense of the danger he was walking into, but Matsuda would be following right behind.

"Are you sure you're alright going alone?" Joey said.

"I'll be fine," Bakura answered, as though he had forgotten the house belonged to a madman and possible murderer, if not someone capable of stealing peoples' souls.

"You sound so confident," Tea said, "Don't get hurt!"

"Go ahead, but if you run into any trouble, come right back," Matsuda said.

"I will," Bakura said with a nod.

Matsuda watched as the white haired boy turned and left down the hallway until he was just barely out of sight.

"I hope he's okay…" Tea said.

"Go now," L's voice sounded in his ear.

"I'm going after him," Matsuda said, "I don't like the thought of him wandering around Pegasus's castle alone."

He ran down the hallway until he was almost out of sight of the balcony. Then, he slowed down, making his footsteps silent as they could be, while still moving fast enough to have some chance at catching up with Bakura. He turned a corner just in time to see someone else vanish at the far end of the corridor.

Matsuda sped up to reach the next corner just in time to spot Bakura nearing the end of the next stretch. He was safe so far.

Suddenly Bakura stopped and turned around.

"I know you're there," he said, his voice low and rough.

Matsuda knew better than to move. This didn't sound like Bakura, did he actually have an alternate personality after all? Matsuda hoped he wasn't hallucinating all of this.

"Taro Matsui - is it?" Bakura asked, though he didn't seem to care about the answer. "Hiding is futile."

He had been discovered, it was time for a change of plan.

"There you are!" Matsuda exclaimed, jumping around the corridor as though he had suddenly started running upon hearing Bakura's voice, "I couldn't let you go alone."

"Your concern is touching, but undue," Bakura said, his rough voice dripping with sarcasm.

With that, he turned around and continued on his way.

Matsuda followed after. "Pegasus is dangerous, it's not safe to be wandering around in his castle alone, you saw what he did-"

Was Bakura laughing?

"What's so funny?" Matsuda asked.

"Pegasus is preoccupied by his duel with little Yugi. As for his goons, no mere mortal can stand against the power of my Millennium Ring." The boy was raving mad.

"What are you talking about?" Matsuda asked, maybe he could finally get some answers.

"My and the Puzzle's vessels were so kind as to explain everything to you, if you don't remember now it's not my job to provide exposition," Bakura retorted.

"What is your job then?" Matsuda tried his luck.

Bakura did not answer. For a little while they walked in silence through the winding halls. The ornate corridors quickly gave way to dank stone tunnels lit by torch light and decorated by suits of armor. It really was a castle, complete with a dungeon out of some European fairytale. They turned this way and that without pause, even as the hall split before them. Somehow, Bakura knew where he was going, or was good at pretending that he did.

"You seem to know your way around the castle pretty well…" Matsuda remarked.

"My Millennium Ring points toward what I seek," Bakura explained, as though he were reciting a memorized fact about which he was largely indifferent.

"That's crazy! What do you mean?" Matsuda stepped a little faster so he was right next to Bakura.

Sure enough, one of the spikes hanging off of the large golden ring around his neck was glowing and pointing straight ahead of them.

"How does it do that?" Matsuda asked, incredulous.

"Magic."

Of course. Maybe it was actually magnetic, though that didn't explain the glowing.

Matsuda let out a kind of awkward laugh, "That's what everything seems to run on here."

Bakura did not answer.

Matsuda was about to try to continue the conversation when they turned into a dead end and stopped. Embedded in the wall in front of them was a stone dragon, posed as though it was emerging from the stone toward them. Who designed this place?

Bakura stepped forward and pushed down on the head of the dragon. It moved and a portion of the wall slid open with a rumble to reveal a hidden doorway. It led to an unlit staircase and whatever lay beyond. What secrets was Pegasus hiding?

"How did you know about that?" Matsuda asked.

"Magic Ring," Bakura said with increasing impatience and turned to descend the stairs.

Matsuda had no choice but to follow after him. Bakura hadn't given the most helpful answer, but he couldn't exactly confront him about belonging to a cult led by Pegasus.

Weren't they supposed to be looking for Tristan?

"You think Tristan went down there?" Matsuda asked, "How would he have known to open the door? He doesn't even have a magic Millennium Item."

"Allow me a query of my own; why do you ask so many questions?" Bakura said in a faux polite voice.

Matsuda stopped, taken aback, "Excuse me, but unlike you, I haven't encountered anything remotely magical before. It takes a little getting used to."

"Quiet," Bakura hissed as they neared the bottom of the stairs.

They ducked out of the way just in time for three men in suits to run by. They were Pegasus's men and they seemed to be looking for something. Was Tristan really down here? Had he been caught? They had to find him fast - or whatever Pegasus's men were looking for.

"This way," Matsuda said as soon as they were out of sight.

"Follow Bakura," L said.

But it was too late, Bakura did not protest. In truth, that was fine by Matsuda, he knew the investigation was important, but so was making sure that all the children who had stumbled into it were safe. And if these guards weren't going to find Tristan, Matsuda would find out where they were going, which could provide even more information than whatever it was that Bakura was looking for.

They wound through the tunnels, just out of sight of Pegasus's men. They were looking for someone, the question was who. If only they could lead them to Tristan without that being who they were looking for, but Matsuda had a sneaking suspicion that he and the boy were out of luck. How Tristan had found his way down here, he still had no idea.

But finding Tristan wasn't his only job, he did have an investigation to continue and his boss had told him to follow Bakura, so he turned to his companion and hissed under his breath, "Where's your Ring pointing?"

"We're going the right way. Don't think I'm following you just for fun," Bakura answered, his voice a little louder than necessary, but Pegasus's men didn't seem to notice, "We're getting close."

"Over here!" one of Pegasus's men shouted, just out of sight.

Matsuda was about to peer around the corner, but Bakura held him back, "Fool, do not reveal our presence yet."

"Hold it right there!" the man shouted.

Bakura turned and went back down the hallway.

"Where are you going?" Matsuda demanded.

"To find Mokuba," Bakura said.

"Follow him," L instructed.

They were so close. He was betting Tristan was right there, but maybe this was his chance to rescue Mokuba. Why would Bakura's alternate personality be looking for Mokuba? Was he being sarcastic?

"No place left to run, punk!" he heard another one of Pegasus's men not too far away.

"You're surrounded," another said.

It was now or never. Matsuda ran toward the source of the noise.

"What are you doing," L demanded, "Stop!"

Matsuda ignored him. He saw one of Pegasus's men, fortunately the man was facing the other direction. This was Matsuda's chance. He crept closer along the wall. Tristan was standing between Matsuda's target and another one of Pegasus's goons - he really was surrounded. And there was someone on Tristan's back - was it Mokuba? But Matsuda didn't have time to wonder about that.

"Now hand over the kid, tough guy," the man closest to Matsuda said.

Matsuda leaped at the man and knocked him to the ground. The other goon stepped toward Tristan and was about to lunge at him when they all heard a low laugh coming from somewhere near by. Everyone froze.

"Lay one hand on the boy and you will rue the day you imbeciles were born." It was Bakura.

"Hey! Who's there?" The goon who was still standing demanded.

Matsuda kept the other man pinned to the ground, but maneuvered so he could keep an eye on what was going on.

"You just walked into a world of trouble, kid!" the goon continued.

"Bakura! Get outta here!" Tristan shouted.

"He's not himself," Matsuda said, "He won't listen."

"Come here punk," the man said, "Step out of those shadows or else-"

"Run! Save yourself while you still can!" Tristan refused to give up.

Bakura merely laughed. "Or else you'll do what, you pathetic little dog?"

He was going to get himself killed, unless this was all a stunt. The boy obviously thought he had magic powers, but that didn't mean he had them.

"We warned you," the goon said.

"Run!" Matsuda shouted, "He'll shoot you! You're not immune to bullets!"

Bakura ignored him. "And now I am warning you, don't trifle with me."

"What's that?" The man demanded.

Bakura was holding a Duel Monsters card as though it were a weapon. This kid was going to get himself killed. Matsuda had to act fast, he leaped to his feet, leaving the one goon on the ground and was about to lunge at the other-

"Chain energy!" Bakura shouted and a burst of light emanated from the card, blinding them for an instant.

When Matsuda's vision finally returned, the two goons were encircled by glowing yellow bands that somehow stopped them from moving. Was this some sort of show or had Matsuda been drugged?

Or was it all real like L had said?

"Are you seeing this?" Matsuda muttered, as though he were just confused and not talking to L.

"Yes," L affirmed.

"There's no way this can be magic…"

"I suspect that it is."

"Bakura, what did you do?" Tristan demanded.

"Come. Now is our chance to escape," Bakura said and ran off.

Tristan ran off after him and Matsuda had no choice but to follow. Pegasus's men shouted after them, but they did not follow. The three of them ran as fast as they could, Tristan carrying the still unconscious Mokuba Kaiba on his back. Bakura led them to a flight of stairs that just went up and up through what must have been the entire castle - unless there was more below them.

"Hey Bakura, what did you do back there," Tristan asked between gasps for air, "Using that magic card, but for real?"

"Not now! Those guards are still behind us!" Bakura said instead of answering.

"You have a lot of explaining to do!" Matsuda yelled after him.

"Yeah, something's up with you and you're going to have to tell me what!" Tristan said.

They tried at the door on the next landing, but it refused to budge. They continued on before Matsuda could so much as offer to try and kick it down.

Stairs and more stairs, they went on forever. He should have tried to kick that door down, or the one before it, but it was too late now, the guards were probably there already. He just had to keep running and running. Tristan was carrying Mokuba, that must have made it even harder, but they couldn't afford to stop long enough to switch, at Bakura seemed to think that was the case.

"Look! A way out!" Tristan exclaimed.

Up ahead there was a doorway flooded with light. It led outside! Where even were they? How many floors had they traversed? The others burst through the doorway and Tristan let out a shout. Matsuda hurried up after him and found him precariously leaning out over the edge. Bakura pulled him back onto the small ledge just in time.

Was Pegasus's castle incomplete or was this some sort of trap? The floor just stopped, giving way to a fall of several stories and then a cliff below. The ground was covered by trees the tops of which formed a sloping lawn of their own.

At least Tristan and Mokuba were safe, that was what mattered.

But not for long; they could hear footsteps in the distance. The three of them turned back toward the stairwell to see several of Pegasus's men gathering on the steps below. It was too late, they were surrounded. They would have to fight their way out and that could not bode well for any of them, unless Bakura pulled more of his "magic."

"You're surrounded, give us back our prisoner now and we might still let you leave in one piece," one of the men shouted up at them.

Yes, instead of dismembering them, they were just going to shoot them. Matsuda wouldn't trust that deal for anything.

"Face it! You've got nowhere else to run!" another shouted.

"So punk, what's it gonna be?" the first goon said.

Bakura laughed again. "You ignorant mortals, it's far from all over. We have barely even begun to play and I'll show you the card fate has dealt you."

This was it. The fates of Tristan, Mokuba Kaiba, and Bakura all relied on Bakura's alternate personality's magical ability to make Duel Monsters cards come to life. This could not end well. There had to be some other way out. Could they scale the side of the building, or get around the goons while Bakura had them distracted. There would probably be a flash of light, real or theatrical, if they ran for it then, maybe they could get out free.

A bright glow emanated from Bakura. It was time!

"Run! Now!" Matsuda exclaimed.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Bakura said, holding out an arm to block him.

The light vanished to reveal a giant monster standing between Bakura and Pegasus's men. Was it a man in a costume or was he hallucinating? Maybe it was one of those holograms Seto Kaiba had invented.

"This is insane…" Matsuda muttered.

"Unusual perhaps," L said, "But I have reason to believe that is a real monster."

Matsuda was hallucinating, he had to be. He was just imagining he was hearing L's voice say that. There was no such thing as magic, it was absurd! But with everything he had seen, could he really say that it didn't explain it? The more he saw the more he had to attribute to Pegasus having incredible technology or magic. And really, when it came down to it, what was the difference between the two?

He was here to find a criminal and stop them. However crazy their means, he couldn't get distracted by that. He didn't have to think about this mess that was making him question his sense of reality.

The monster - Matsuda pointedly wasn't questioning it - attacked Pegasus's men. They screamed in terror. Whatever it was doing to them, they didn't deserve it for having an awful boss.

"Stay here," Matsuda ordered.

"Do not blow your cover," L said.

He couldn't just sit and listen to people being eaten by a giant monster! He stepped toward the monster and drew his gun-

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Bakura repeated.

"What do you have a gun for?" Tristan demanded.

"I can't just let it eat them!" Matsuda said to half-answer everyone.

"It's too late for that," Bakura said.

The screams faded and Bakura held back up the card. The monster vanished. The only evidence that any of the men who had pursued them had ever been there was a broken pair of sunglasses.

"I've no patience for obstacles that get in my way," Bakura said. "Remember that."

The others began to descend the stairs and Matsuda followed at a little bit of a distance.

"I don't know how you did that and I probably don't want to know," Tristan said, "You're the evil Bakura, aren't you? What do you want? How did you get back here after Yami defeated you?"

"Yami only defeated me because Bakura betrayed me. I've decided I need a new host," the boy answered.

"You won't take either of us without a fight!" Tristan clenched his fists, ready for a fight.

"Not yours. I want a vessel without a mind or soul of its own," Bakura explained.

"You want Mokuba…" Tristan realized.

Matsuda wouldn't let Bakura get the boy, no matter what he was actually planning on doing with him. He had a feeling Tristan was willing to fight too, but it was dangerous, given what had happened to Pegasus's men, it could so easily cost them their lives. They had to be careful. Matsuda had to get both of them out of harm's way. And was there still a chance of saving Bakura?

"Now turn him over or face the same fate as those guards," Bakura said and let out a long, harsh laugh.

He had to incapacitate Bakura in a single move or he could use one of the cards and do who only knew what, but he couldn't hurt the boy. There was a child under there, one who had no power over what was going on. He had to be careful. Maybe if he could grab Bakura's cards and then incapacitate him…

"So, what will it be, mortal," Bakura continued, "Are you going to hand Mokuba over willingly or do I have to conjure something to consume your soul. Why sacrifice your life when you know I'll still gain possession of him in the end."

"Alright, I give up," Tristan said, "You can have him."

No! Matsuda had to act now or Mokuba would fall into Bakura's hands. Tristan would be safe if he handed the boy over, but then Mokuba would be in danger. Matsuda slipped behind Bakura, who was distracted by the exchange and rammed into him, knocking him to the ground.

Tristan bent down and tore the Millennium Ring from around Bakura's neck, "Since the evil spirit inside of that necklace is what's controlling Bakura, we've got to get rid of the necklace!"

"Bring it to me," L said.

That didn't sound like a good idea, but maybe it would help him understand what was going on. Matsuda hoped L knew what he was doing.

"How do you plan on doing that?" Matsuda asked.

"We have to dispose of it somehow," Tristan said, "Maybe throw it where no one will never find it - so not even we know where it is."

"What if someone finds it? I can take it and dispose of it," Matsuda offered.

Tristan held fast to the golden ring. "Why do you want it? How do I know you don't want its power like Pegasus does. What if it controls you like it did to Bakura?"

Matsuda hesitated, "The truth of the matter is-"

"Don't blow your cover," L's voice blared in his ears, but if he wanted the Ring, Matsuda didn't see another option - if L had an idea, he would be glad to hear it.

"Never mind," Matsuda said.

"Get me the Ring, but don't blow your cover!" L insisted.

If there was real magic at play, Pegasus could read minds and already knew. As for everyone else, there was nothing unusual about a detective investigating someone who was bragging about stealing people's souls. He wasn't going to mention L, just his normal job as a police officer would be enough.

"What is it?" Tristan demanded.

"I'm a detective," Matsuda explained at last, "My name is Touta Matsuda, I'm here undercover to investigate Maximilian Pegasus. I'm sorry for not telling you sooner, but I had to keep my identity a secret. You can't tell anyone. I can bring the ring back to headquarters and make sure no one uses it again. Not to mention that it's an important piece of evidence-"

"Prove it," Tristan said.

"What?"

"Prove that you're a detective and not just making all of this up."

Matsuda took out his wallet and opened the secret compartment in the lining to take out his official ID. Tristan looked at it and nodded.

"I'm sorry for doubting you, I just had to be sure," Tristan said.

"I understand," Matsuda said, "If anything like this happens again, you should contact me." At least that way, he could make use of his identity being known to get more information.

"Here." Tristan handed the Ring over to Matsuda.

Immediately he felt a strong urge to put the ring around his neck. No, that was a bad idea. He quickly shoved it into his satchel and buried it deep.

* * *

The shadows that had consumed the dueling arena finally began to fade. On one side stood Yugi Muto, Light's Millennium Puzzle still hanging around his neck. Opposite him was Maximillion Pegasus, slumped over in defeat. There was one thing left for the puzzle to do - finish the criminal as it had done to all the others. That would confirm to everyone present who was sufficiently aware of the world around them that Light Yagami's puzzle was responsible for the series of criminals in comas and that in turn would turn suspicion onto Light himself, but that he was more than prepared to deal with.

"Pegasus, now it is your turn to face retribution for all the pain and suffering you have caused!" Muto shouted in a voice that was more the puzzle's than his own.

Muto pulled back his arm, his palm facing out as though he were the character in one of the ridiculous animes Light had seen his classmates watching in middle school, about to perform some absurd magical attack. Was this really how the puzzle used its ability to put people into comas? Unless it was just posing needlessly, which was always an option.

"Wait!" Muto screamed in his own voice, falling to his knees.

Wheeler, Gardner and Taylor, who had been standing behind Muto like the useless idiots they were, suddenly rushed to his side as though they could help. Light supposed he ought to do the same to ensure his place among them and deflect suspicion - not to mention to reclaim his Millennium Puzzle. The only people left on the balcony with him were Ryo Bakura and Mokuba Kaiba, both unconscious. Taro Matsui was not with Taylor when he returned to the arena carrying Bakura and the younger Kaiba. Matsui's plan to get the Millennium Eye had no doubt been set in motion, he was likely lying in wait somewhere in the castle.

But there were more important matters at hand. First, Light would get back his Millennium Puzzle that the pharaoh had decided to give to Yugi Muto for some indiscernible reason. And then he would claim the Millennium Eye that it had managed to win him. He made his way downstairs to the arena where all of the others had gathered. Wheeler, Gardner, and Taylor were gathered around a crying Muto. The puzzle was on the ground a little ways away.

"What's wrong?" Light asked, "What happened there?"

"I almost killed him…" Muto said in answer to Light's question, though he did not truly acknowledge Light's presence, "I-I was ready to… I was so angry…"

"What did your Millennium Puzzle do to him?" Taylor turned on Light and demanded.

"I don't know..." Light said, shaking a little bit himself, for effect. "I don't remember… I'm so sorry."

"I- I don't know what happened..." Muto continued, "I thought we won, I thought everything was going to be okay..."

"You did win!" Wheeler exclaimed, "You beat Pegasus so bad-"

Taylor silenced him as Muto resumed rambling, "I was so angry... I was ready to- I wanted to-"

"It's okay," Light said.

"For you maybe!" Taylor said, glaring at Light as though he could actually threaten him.

Light pointedly ignored the interruption. "It wasn't you."

"No, it can't be..." Muto said, "I thought he was my friend, he wanted to help me, to save everyone, but I was so angry..."

"I felt it too," Light said, "Even when I'm not wearing the puzzle, I still feel things, I still feel his mind. I don't know what he wanted to do, but it's not your fault."

Muto nodded and wiped away his tears.

"You didn't do anything," Gardner said, "You stopped whatever the Millennium Puzzle wanted to do. I saw Pegasus walk out with two of his men."

"He better not be running away!" Wheeler said, "He promised to free everyone!"

"What are we going to do about the Puzzle?" Taylor asked. "Taro said he'd dispose of the Ring, but I don't know where he went."

"What?" Light demanded, he barely managed to conceal his outrage in time.

They had given Taro Matsui, a known criminal, the Millennium Ring. Light had been right, they were working together after all. Unless it was all a trap...

"He's an undercover cop, apparently," Taylor continued, "Investigating Pegasus."

So that was their cover story.

"I'll keep the puzzle," Light said. "I know it's dangerous, but I wouldn't want it to fall into anyone else's hands, and I've managed alright so far, right?"

"What if it's controlling you like Bakura?" Taylor insisted.

"Didn't it save us from the evil Bakura?" Wheeler said.

"I don't-" Muto cut himself off and tried again, "It was scary, but I don't think Yami- the spirit of the Millennium Puzzle is evil like the Ring is... It was just angry at Pegasus for everything..."

"You said yourself that it wanted you to kill Pegasus," Taylor said.

"Not kill exactly, I don't know how to describe it…" Muto said.

They all turned to Light, who mimed confusion

"Where is Bakura? Is he okay?" Muto exclaimed.

"He's unconscious, I left him up on the balcony," Taylor said.

The others made to leave and join their unconscious friend. Light had to act quickly before they went after Pegasus.

"Are you coming, Yami?" Muto asked when he saw that Light wasn't following them.

Light shook his head, "I have to figure out what to do with the puzzle."

"Okay." Muto followed the others out.

As soon as they were out of sight, Light picked up the puzzle and stowed it away. He felt it tugging at his arms, trying to put the puzzle around his neck, but he refused them the satisfaction. He would not let the puzzle ruin his final chance to obtain the Millennium Eye.

He left the arena and wound through the halls, following the echo of anxious voices, while he always remained just out of sight. Pegasus would be in the eye of the storm, at the center of the chaos in a quiet sanctuary. Somewhere he thought was safe. Light made his way up into a tower and at last he came upon a locked door. Now it was time to let the puzzle give Pegasus his due.

Light took out the puzzle from his satchel and put it around his neck.

"What did I do wrong?" The puzzle's voice echoed in his mind, "Why did he wish to protect Pegasus after all he had done?"

"It doesn't matter," Light put the thought forward for the puzzle to hear, "Here is your chance to give Maximillion Pegasus his due."

"Wait! Are you sure we are not making a mistake?"

Light felt the confusion radiating from the puzzle and so Light let his own certainty take control, "We will bring justice to Pegasus and take his Millennium Eye."

He forced a body, not entirely his own, through the doorway. Pegasus was there, bent over his desk in the center of the room.

"What do you want?" The broken man asked.

"To finish what I could not before," Light pushed each word out of his mouth.

"Wait! Spare me! I did it, I kept my promise, their souls are free!"

"I do not want their souls," Light sneered. "I am justice!"

Do it! Light thought with the horse of his entire mind.

He held up his arm as Muto had and pushed out his palm. He could feel Pegasus's mind breaking by his own hand. The man crumpled to the ground and made no more effort to move.

Light bent down and pulled the golden eye from its socket with a sickening squelch.

* * *

 **Note: Thank you, everyone who has stayed with us throughout this journey. The sequel, Controller of Minds, has begun!**


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